Long before she was designing leadership programs and shaping workplace culture across NYU's global campuses, Diana Mendez was asking a deceptively simple question: What helps people flourish?
At A Glance
Alum
Diana Mendez
Program
MA in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness (2007)
Professional Pathway
Director, Workplace Engagement and Experience
When Diana Mendez joined NYU Steinhardt’s first counseling cohort, she was determined not to be a clinician confined to a quiet office. Her journey from Rutgers, where she studied social work and psychology, gave her the insight of a first-generation college student who knew how invisible knowledge could shape someone’s future. Diana was driven to understand how people find meaning in their lives and how institutions could do more than simply leave them to navigate it on their own.
In the MA Counseling program, that question became practical. The program itself was changing, growing from a 42-credit curriculum into a 60-credit, licensure-eligible degree. Diana learned to move within that change. She worked with faculty to develop an internship that placed her in both a college counseling center and a career center. It was a small structural choice with lasting consequences. In those two spaces, she saw that career questions were rarely only about jobs. There were also questions of identity, belonging, confidence, family expectations, and the future.
Crafting a Career in Career Development
That insight became the thread running through Diana’s career. She started by counseling nontraditional and first-generation students at Essex County College, then expanded her impact at Pace, NYU Wasserman, and Bloomfield College. At Wasserman, she crafted leadership and workforce-readiness programs, championed inclusive hiring, developed career learning for wide audiences, and mentored first-generation students. She even returned to her roots, revising resumes for first-generation fellows at LEDA’s Summer Leadership Institute—serving the very students whose questions she once shared.
Her sense of purpose kept expanding. At NYU Stern, as Associate Director for the Breakthrough Scholars Leadership Program, Diana designed leadership curricula, retreats, corporate partnerships, and evaluation tools for early-career professionals from historically underrepresented backgrounds. She later earned an M.S. in HR Management and Development from NYU, weaving human capital strategy into the counseling skills that first taught her the power of listening.
Now, as Director of Workplace Engagement and Experience for NYU Global Enrollment Management and Student Success, Diana shapes onboarding, leadership development, and learning experiences for over 350 staff spanning New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai. The reach is broader, but the core question remains: how do you create spaces where people can grow with structure, dignity, and the freedom to become themselves?
Advice to Students
Take the time to research opportunities carefully and work closely with Steinhardt staff to identify sites where the type of practice you’re interested in is already happening. It’s also important to be intentional about your elective choices, especially if you don’t plan to pursue licensure."
The MA Counseling program offered Diana more than a credential; it gave her a lens to see that purpose can be lived at every level: in a counseling session, a resume review, a mentorship, a leadership retreat, or the culture of a workplace. Her career now serves as a map for how applied psychology can transform lives when it moves beyond the classroom and into the systems that shape our world.
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