Academic Advisor, Academic Standards Board
About
What is your advising philosophy? Advising is teaching. With every conversation I am responsible for creating conditions that enable students to act on their power to make good choices for themselves. I embrace educational philosopher Maxine Greene's assertion that "learning must be a process of discovery and recovery in response to worthwhile questions rising out of conscious life in concrete situations."
What was your path to Newnan? I was a high school English instructor for 5 years before arriving at Michigan. As a U-M graduate student and lecturer I taught courses in writing, literature, and English methods, the latter for prospective teachers seeking certification in secondary English. I spent many years working as a writing tutor and supervisor of student teachers in middle and high school settings throughout southeast Michigan.
What do you enjoy about working in Newnan? The autonomy to be creative in my approach to advising. I love the intimacy of the interpersonal conversation with students. I enjoy collaborating with smart and supportive colleagues who view advising as essential educational practice.
Class you loved and why? I took a course in modern rhetoric at Indiana State University from a professor (an advisor and mentor) who had us read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I loved Pirsig's interweaving of the physical journey with the sojourn of the mind. This novel made me appreciate that what I had learned about "classical maintenance" growing up on a farm was also a way of thinking, being, and behaving in the world. And I never looked at "tools" quite the same way again...
Interests and hobbies: I love baseball and coaching my son's travel baseball team. I am also passionate about gardening and am probably happiest when involved in some kind of physical activity outdoors.
