Cristina Pandaru

Cristina Pandaru, Tenure
Business & Government

Students who sign up for Cristina Pandaru’s Business & Government classes get an extra dose of cultural experience. Cristina likes to share her personal knowledge of how coming from Romania to now living in the U.S. is very different. She said often students believe from the media on how the U.S. is constantly losing ground, but in reality it’s still a powerful economic leader.

Cristina said her parents represent the American Dream because when they migrated to San Antonio, they lived in a hotel for about a month until they found a permanent place to live. Just recently, Cristina became a U.S. citizen. She constantly urges her students to get out and vote, especially in this election year, because having that same opportunity in her former Romania wasn’t that easy.

What is your background?
“I was born and raised in Romania, a beautiful country in Eastern Europe and spent my time reading, knitting, studying and playing  a lot of winter sports, which is one thing I miss since settling in San Antonio. I watched my native country transition from a command and control to a more market-oriented economic system and that’s what sparked my interest in Economics. I hoped that one day I would become a great economist and solve my native country’s economic ills. What can I say? I was a dreamer.”

What is your educational background?
“I was a junior in college at The Academy for Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania’s capital city, when I got admitted to Trinity University and graduated three years later with a degree in Economics. I decided to continue my education and received my master’s in Economics from UTSA and a master’s in Finance two years later. During my graduate studies, I was a teacher’s assistant and loved every minute of it, that is when I decided that Education was the road I wanted to take.”

Where did you work prior to coming to NVC?
“At UTSA, where I taught undergraduate and graduate level ECON classes as well as labs for junior level finance classes.”

What is the best part about working at NVC?
“It is hard to pick one because working at NVC is such a blessing; I consider it a big honor to be part of the NVC family! But if I must pick, the best part is the feeling that everyone seems to know everyone else by name!”

What is the most rewarding part about your job?
“Knowing that at the end of the day, I have made a difference in someone’s life; being a student, or a colleague. Nothing gets me happier than receiving emails from former students keeping me posted about their accomplishments years after taking my class and the fact that they take the time to write me an email or sometimes come by to say ‘Hi’ brightens my day!”

What are your hobbies, interests or favorite activities?
“I love reading book and dancing.”

Do you have a personal motto you like to share with students?
“There are no wrong turns in life, just detours.”