Tashanna Stanciel has guided students and youth in many ways during her career.
Whether it was helping them navigate through college financially and socially or fostering a university’s diversity on campus, Stanciel has been up to the challenge.
During her 16-year career, she has held positions in higher education and nonprofit administration. Stanciel, a first-generation college student, has devoted her career to serving, advising, and mentoring young people.
She now serves as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri [BBBSEMO], where she maintains key education and employment relationships to advance its reach and impact. Her work includes University of Missouri-St. Louis and her alma mater, Southeast Missouri State University [SEMO.]
For her dedication and service, Stanciel has been named the SEMO Community Based Partner of the year. She will be honored during the milestone 35th Annual St. Louis American Salute To Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Banquet on Oct. 1, 2022, at America’s Center.
“There’s more than just financial aid when it comes to college,” Stanciel said in a recent interview.
“It’s important that you can afford it. But do you have a sense of belonging on campus? Are there support systems in place to make sure that you are going to be successful? In addition to those support services, who are those individuals on campus who truly care about you and are going to help you get to the finish line. That’s what this partnership is going to help.”
Stanciel supports students from high school to career and connects them with resources to
help them achieve their personal, professional, and career goals. She has exuded her
confidence in young people since beginning her career in 2006 as a financial aid and scholarship counselor at Missouri State University in Springfield where she assisted students fund their college education.
She has also managed all Missouri Department of Higher Education financial assistance programs and educated students and their families on financial aid eligibility, options, and processes.
From 2008-2014, she served as Morehead State University senior enrollment services counselor for diversity and aligned the annual minority student recruitment strategic marketing plan with MSU’s enrollment goals.
Additionally, she organized and facilitated innovative student recruitment and community outreach initiatives to diverse student populations including “Diversity Day” and “Evening with the Eagles”.
As a Staff of Color Representative [SOCRep], she was integral in developing “Three Best Hopes”, which outlines recommendations for advancing the agency’s anti-bias anti-racist [ABAR] practices, policies, and procedures. With Staff of Color leadership, hard work, and dedication, “Three Best Hopes” is now part of the agency’s core documents.
She has built relationships, trust, and rapport with high school personnel, workforce development program staff, higher education administrators, parents, youth, community organizations, and community leaders.
Stanciel is a graduate of the Morehead State University President’s Leadership Academy [Class of 2014] and was honored as a Nine PBS Public Media American Graduate Champion [2016] and a Focus St. Louis Emerging Leaders Alum [Fall 2018.] She serves as the Vice President of the Board for Brownpreneurs and chairs its Community Outreach Committee.
Raised in St. Louis, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in corrections, and a minor in developmental psychology from Southeast Missouri State University.
She earned a Master of Science in Public Administration and Policy Analysis with an emphasis in nonprofit administration from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
She is married to Terry Stanciel and is mom to “soccer sensation,” Micah.
