A. Tenielle Buchanan

Assistant Dean of Students

Intercultural Development

Tenielle Buchanan graduated in 2005 from Lipscomb University with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a minor in Biology. After graduating from Lipscomb, she attended the University of Memphis to earn a master's degree in journalism and public relations. There she worked with Professor Bob Levey, a former columnist for The Washington Post, to collect biographies and perspectives of minority students. After returning to Nashville, Buchanan worked at the Center for Nashville Studies housed at Vanderbilt University, where she coordinated events and maintained the center's Web site. She currently serves as a board member for Morning Star Sanctuary, Community Nashville and the American Red Cross.

Jessie Garcia Van de Griek

Jessie Garcia Van De Griek, well-known in Nashville’s Latino community as the director of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Latino Achievers Program, has moved to Lipscomb University as Assistant Dean in the Office of Intercultural Engagement, devoted to student development, multicultural awareness and fund-raising for the My Generation/Mi Generación Scholars program.
 

Van De Griek, who was born in Arizona and grew up spending much of her childhood in Mexico, is well familiar with the challenges faced by Latino students in the new millennium. Her mother was a field worker and by the time she was in the sixth grade, Van De Griek had attended 13 schools.
Despite such educational barriers, Van De Griek became the first in her family to graduate high school and to attend college. Three-and-a-half years ago, she joined the YMCA to help today’s students achieve those same accomplishments despite the barriers in their culture.