Spotlight
Kharisma Montes de Oca
Coordinator for Marketing & Development for Off-Campus Housing,
Center for Student Involvement & Leadership
This month's Student Affairs employee SPOTLIGHT features Kharisma Montes de Oca. Kharisma has been with the Arizona Student Unions for less than a year and coordinates programmatic and developmental activities. Examples of these activities include Apartment Rush and the Off-Campus Housing Guide that support some of the basic needs of our commuter students as well as business functions of the Off-Campus Housing Services area. Kharisma also oversees the outreach workgroup for the Center of Student Involvement & Leadership.
Background & Education
Born in Salinas, CA, Kharisma spent her early years in Sonora, Mexico, later moving to Nogales (both sides of the border), Elgin, which is near Sonoita and Tombstone, and Tucson where she graduated from Sabino High School.
After graduating from High School, Kharisma enrolled at the University of Arizona where she majored in music composition. Although she has only been in her present position for a year, Kharisma is no stranger to the Student Unions, having worked as a student employee for four years in concessions, at every home football and basketball game while pursuing her undergraduate degree.
Upon graduating from the UA she moved to Phoenix where she worked in promotions and marketing for Camel cigarettes, the perfect job for a non-smoking music major. She also worked in advertising for the Phoenix New Times, their equivalent to the Tucson Weekly. While in Phoenix she also began her classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
More About Kharisma
Kharisma only spent about a year in Phoenix before deciding on a very different geographical location, she moved to Seattle for the next six years, where she changed her focus and employment to real estate and property management, hence her current position at the Student Unions. She also continued her interest in music by playing piano at a restaurant that was occasionally frequented by software mogul Bill Gates.
When asked why she returned to Tucson, she mentioned wanting to be closer to her family and a desire to continue her education. She has plans for a double master's, a MBA and a MIM, Master's in International Management which will be coordinated with the Thunderbird program in Phoenix. While this may seem a daunting task for a single mother of two young boys (Suliaman, 5 and Carson, 2), you can actually feel her determination and resolution radiate from her. The Student Unions are very happy to have Kharisma on the Union's team.
