Staff Portrait: Lindsey Hresko

Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Leadership, Office of Student Affairs

Lindsey Hresko has always lived in New Jersey apart from a stint at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pa., where she was the coordinator of student involvement. She received her bachelor’s in broadcast journalism from Montclair State University and her master’s of education in college student affairs from Rutgers; she also worked at Rutgers for two years before decamping for Lafayette. Lindsey describes her position at Juilliard—where she celebrated her one-year work-aversary in July—as “the most fun job on campus: I advise and train students in leadership roles, work with student clubs, and host a variety of programs and activities.”

How did you end up here?
I fell in love with higher education when I served in leadership roles as a college student and decided it was a career path I wanted to pursue. I’ve done the performing arts as a hobby for most of my life, so this was the perfect fusion of two of my passions. Shout-out to Sabrina Tanbara for hiring me!

What job at Juilliard would you like to try out for a day?
Security! Specifically, I would like to be Kevin Challenger for a day. He always has the pulse of the building, has amazing staff working with him, and he knows everyone.

What’s the most fun aspect of being in Student Affairs?
Sometimes, my job entails toasting s’mores while having conversations with brilliant students, or learning about cosplay from a member of the Juilliard Geek Coalition who is dressed like Frodo Baggins. Those are pretty awesome things to get paid for.

What is the strangest job you’ve had?
When I was an undergrad, I was a campus tour guide. In and of itself, that’s not a particularly strange job but my college friends certainly made it memorable. When they knew I was leading a tour, they would set out to find me on campus, stop the group, and sing “Happy Birthday” to me. Twice a week. I was mildly miffed about it until I realized tour groups were even kinder to me when they thought it was my birthday. My friends are brilliant.

What other pursuits are you passionate about?
Social justice and feminism. Right now, I believe the most important things we can educate ourselves on are intersectionality and privilege in order to try to untangle a whole lot of systemic oppression in our society. By having these conversations with people who are smarter than me and have different experiences, I hope to learn to be a better advocate each day.

What might people be surprised to know about you?
I have no sense of smell!  

What are you listening to/watching/reading?
I’m listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History, which I seriously recommend for anyone—it will change the way you think about golf, satire, college cafeteria food, and a host of other things. I’m watching Game of Thrones, of course, and having a lot of feelings about the character development of Sansa Stark and The Hound (which I’d be happy to share with anyone who opens up this line of conversation with me). I’m reading a book called If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. It’s a novel about a group of students at an elite conservatory, which I’m sure doesn’t hit too close to home for anyone at Juilliard.

What question do you always get asked?
“How do you pronounce your last name?” Valid question. Hint: the H is silent!

What question do you wish you’d get asked?
“Tell me about the book you’re reading,” but only if you have time for a long and rambling response.

What are your three top pieces of advice for incoming students?

• You gain knowledge when you step outside your comfort zone, so don’t be afraid to try things that make you mildly uncomfortable.
• Get involved! Join clubs and attend programs and you will certainly find like-minded people to connect with.
• Connect with people outside of your division! With your mix of talents, you could conquer the world.