Coordinator for Department Advising
About
What is your advising philosophy? Regardless of where they are at in their college experience or life, I want to help students reflect on their interests, values, strengths, and goals, and make informed decisions about their futures.
What was your path to Newnan? I came to the University of Michigan in 2007 to pursue a Ph.D. in History and ultimately become a professor. During my tenure as a graduate student, I discovered my passion for working with students, both in the classroom as an instructor and outside the classroom as an advisor. In 2014, I chose to follow a different career path and become an academic advisor so I could continue to work with students in a dynamic and supportive environment.
What do you enjoy about working in Newnan? The opportunity to work with intellectually curious students who are motivated to improve themselves and the world. I also appreciate my colleagues, who are brilliant, caring, and hard working. Finally, I enjoy the innovative and spirited atmosphere of the university community.
Class you loved and why? My favorite class is not one I took as a student (there are too many good ones from which to choose), but one that I taught. It was a 400-level International Studies class on religious terrorism. As a group, the class examined terrorist acts committed by adherents of Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu beliefs and interrogated theologies frequently depicted as eschewing violence. We also investigated how religious justifications for violence are both differentiated from, and linked to, political, social, and economic motivations for terrorism. For their final assignment, students had the option to create a multimedia project on the topic of their choosing. It was an amazing experience!
