Gicel Martell de Zardeneta joins Loyola Marymount University as director for transfer admission and enrollment services, effective Aug. 14, 2023, announced Tom Gutto, associate vice provost for undergraduate enrollment. Martell de Zardeneta comes to LMU from Mount Saint Mary’s University, where she served as the director of transfer admission and adult programs.
As LMU’s director for transfer admission and enrollment services, Martell de Zardeneta will lead a team of full-time professionals and graduate assistants responsible for recruiting transfer students from community colleges and four-year institutions. More than 600 students transfer to LMU each year; Martell de Zardeneta’s leadership will be instrumental in ensuring LMU’s transfer pathway and community college guarantee programs continue to thrive. She will serve on Enrollment Management’s leadership team, executing prospective student outreach and recruitment strategies.
Martell de Zardeneta credits her experience as an adult transfer student as the catalyst for her interest in higher education administration and transfer pathways. Born in Mexico City and raised in East Los Angeles, Martell de Zardeneta is a first-generation college student who has dedicated her career in higher education to supporting students as they navigate the transfer admission process.
Gicel earned both a Master of Science in counseling psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts from Mount St. Mary’s University.