Gabriel Barreneche
Faculty-in-Residence
Associate Professor, Modern Languages
Faculty Director of Living Learning Communities
This year's Director of the Living Learning Community Program is Gabriel Barreneche, associate professor of Spanish. As Faculty-In-Residence, Barreneche will be the LLC's "Academic Cruise Director," coordinating a variety of engaging activities throughout the year. Dr. Barreneche, his wife Ileana, and their 3.5 pound canine fuzz ball Marco live in Ward Hall, and look forward to getting to know all of the residents of Ward. Barreneche and Ileana enjoy the simple things: coffee and a newspaper, long walks with Marco, and they are both secretly hooked on "American Idol." Dr. Barreneche teaches intermediate and advanced level Spanish language, culture, and literature courses, and will be the Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program in the fall as well. Finally, he claims to make the best Cuban "cafecito" this side of Little Havana.
Whitney McDonald
Assistant Director, Residential Life
Coordinator of the Living Learning Communities
Whitney is a self described life long learner. After received her bachelors degree in Finance and Real Estate from Florida State University in 2006, she went on to receive her MBA from Rollins in 2009 and her Master's in Educational Leadership, Higher Education/Student Personnel Services in 2011. In her free time, she can be found training for her next half marathon, exploring everthing Orlando has to offer, and spending time with friends and family. Whitney is passionate about creating meaningful experiences for first year students and helping them transition smoothly into their lives here at Rollins! Go Tars!
Juan Escobar
Hall Director, Residential Life
Graduate Assistant for the Living Learning Communities
Juan received his B.A. in Public Administration from UCF in May 2012 and is currently working on his Master's in Educational Leadership, Higher Education/Student Personnel Services from UCF. He loves to play soccer and basketball and enjoys spending time with friends and family. He is an alumnus of Beta Theta Pi and loves his fraternity dearly! Juan also enjoys going to mass on Sundays and watching college football! In the near future, he hopes to earn my master’s degree in Higher Education/Student Personnel and continue working in residential life. Ultimately, he’d like to be the Vice President of Student Affairs at a college or university.
