Quiana Preston, 30

By Lorna Collier

Students at Rock Valley College know Quiana Preston: the energetic manager of student life who has revamped and revived extracurricular programming at the school. She has set up a new, more active student government; guided the implementation of a campus activities board; and maximized student activities. Her efforts have paid off. Attendance at events has tripled in the past three years.

“Our student government is what I’m most proud of,” Preston said of her six-year tenure at the school. “But I’m proud of the whole department. The transformation has been enormous.”

Her newest project at RVC is a student leadership academy, which she hopes to put in place in fall, 2010.

Preston is a Loves Park resident who was born in Germany (her dad was in the Air Force) and grew up in Indiana. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University and a master’s in education from the University of Toledo, and hopes to earn a doctorate in higher education, plus study legal issues.

Besides her work at RVC, Preston — a self-described visionary — dreams of developing a community agency, called the “Center for Promise,” to help young adults learn how to achieve their personal aspirations. She also is working with a friend, LaTanya Seabrook, to develop a mentorship program for young minority women.

Mike Mastroianni, associate vice president of outreach and planning at RVC, calls Preston “a doer” filled with contagious enthusiasm. “This community needs people like her.”