Fannetta (Fann) Sanders, ’27, juggles multiple roles at La Salle University. Through it all, she finds joy in working with others. 

Fannetta (Fann) Sanders, ’27, loves working with people.  

As La Salle University’s admissions operations assistant, she is often the first hello for prospective students and their families who check in at the Admissions Office. She enjoys the human-to-human interaction of her role, but most importantly, loves that she is a part of something bigger.  

“It’s a team sport over here,” she said about the Admissions Office. “If somebody needs a hand, everybody is willing to jump in. We really do work together as a team. I think everybody’s fun, easygoing, and I think it’s just a particular personality that you have to have to be in admissions.” 
 

Sanders said she loves being a part of the La Salle University community. Growing up in Philadelphia’s Logan neighborhood, she was never far away from 20^th and Olney, but it wasn’t until working for the institution that she discovered how beautiful the campus was and how welcoming everyone would be.  

“That environment is super valuable, and it makes me excited about coming to work every day,” she said.  

But Sanders’ connection to campus extends beyond her job title. She is also a psychology student, studying to understand people on an even deeper level. She’d previously obtained an associate degree in digital video production from the Community College of Philadelphia and wanted to achieve her goal of earning another credential. Psychology was a natural choice for Sanders who enjoys community, collaboration, and learning more about human behavior. 

In the Psychology Program, she’s enjoying learning about developmental psychology, the study of how people grow, change, and adapt throughout their lives, and theories of personality, frameworks that explain how personalities form, develop, and influence someone’s behavior. Both courses allow her to dive more into her field of study and gain a better understanding of herself and those around her.  

While her degree choices aren’t traditionally related, she said many of the lessons and skills she learned in the first part of her educational and career journey have complemented the new skills she’s building. 

“I think your experience from your career builds skills that are transferable. For me, most of my history is in performance and stage, and video production. I was like, ‘who’s going to take me seriously if I pivot to this other profession?’ But one thing that I learned from moving into, not just this admissions position, but academically making a shift, is that so many of the things that I had to apply in my creative production space apply in other professional spaces as well,” she said. 

Working in the creative field of film production and higher education, she’s experienced a wide range of different types of colleagues, some more creative thinkers, some analytical, and some in between.  

Throughout all of her Explorer roles, being able to meld her work experience with her academic studies is building a strong foundation, including having a better academic understanding of  the human mind while also gaining more real-world interactions with prospective students and colleagues. All of this will help prepare her for whatever the future may hold.  

While Sanders loves her current role at La Salle, she hopes to be able to use her degree to gain work experience in people development, coaching, and training.  

“I’m really looking for my education here to be the foundation to help me serve in those areas and build a career,” she said.

And, as an adult learner, she’s learned it’s never too late to pursue what you’re passionate about.  

“I would just encourage people to know that the skills and the experience you have are valuable, and they make you unique,” she added. 

— Meg Ryan, M.A. ’24