Advisor of the month: July 2024

What do you enjoy about your role in advising?
I am the academic advisor for students majoring in Explore Science and teach the Explore Science Seminar FYE course. I enjoy getting to know my students and learning more about their goals, accomplishments, strengths, and challenges experienced. This enables me to have conversations with them about majors they may find motivating and inspiring.

I also enjoy when I see a student turn things around academically with a little motivation and encouragement. Words may sometimes be small to us but may mean the world to a student.

In what ways have you contributed to advising in your department/area?
I have been at Virginia Tech and the College of Science for 4 short years! During that time, I’ve established and chair the College of Science Board of Advisors which provides shared governance for academic advising in the college. Together, we’ve created a comprehensive academic advising website (science.vt.edu/advising), devised an advising communication plan, currently working on a comprehensive academic advising handbook, and more.

Upon arriving, I established the College of Science Outstanding Academic Advisor Awards (Faculty Advisor & Professional Advisor), responsible for VT EARS for the College of Science, and lead the College of Science VAACR orientation implementation team. I’ve worked on creating a comprehensive onboarding program for new academic advisors (now taken over by two of my great colleagues, Taylor Swan and Sarah Bechtel who have taken it to the next level!), established formal procedures for our embedded academic advisors in the College of Science for requesting funds pertinent to professional development, and served as a mentor in the AAI inaugural Academic Advisor Mentor Program.

I also teach the Explore Science Seminar FYE course for students exploring majors in the College of Science to help them learn about our majors and the opportunities they provide.

What advice would you give to other professionals who want to a make a difference in the life of their students?
Get to know your students and take a sincere interest in learning about who they are. Create a welcoming environment where students feel comfortable to come to you. Ask them questions to find out about their culture, hometown, research interests, motivations, etc. This will aid in developing rapport with your students and help you build that connection.