By Tristian Evans/south news editor

A desire to give back to the community and connect with students brought Dr. Nicole Bradford to South Campus.

Bradford, who recently took the position of vice president of student development services, said she hopes to make a positive impact in the lives of students.

“I was drawn to TCC South Campus because of the demographic,” she said. “I like working with this type of student population.”

Bradford herself is a first-generation college student and started by taking classes at Austin Community College before moving on to Grambling State University for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and Texas Southern University for her doctorate.

She has worked in higher education for 13 years and has served in many capacities: faculty member, director and administrator.

She describes the vice president position as her “next step up.”

Bradford said her priorities as vice president include retention and recruitment. She also wants to develop strong leadership programs that will better prepare South students for the future.

She also plans to build a strong, supportive, creative learning environment for students. One of the ways she hopes to accomplish this is with a zero tolerance for violence on the campus.

“I just want to make a very safe environment for all students,” she said.

Bradford also plans to collaborate and connect with the various departments within the college and wants to engage the TCC alumni to serve as mentors to current students.

“I look at the student development services department as providing quality services with the student in mind,” she said. “We really want to be student-centered.”

Bradford said she looks forward to working with President Ernest Thomas and the strong team within her department.

“There are a lot of caring and compassionate and committed individuals [within] student development services, and I’m very happy to be a part of that team,” she said.