Academic Advisor, Academic Standards Board
About
What is your advising philosophy? When meeting with students, I point out and emphasize the choices available to them. In the midst of completing coursework, planning for a major, or gearing up for a career, we can often feel like our most crucial plans hinge on the schedules or decisions of others, so I think one of my most important roles as an advisor is to help students see the places where they have control over their lives. I also believe that many of the most helpful conversations I have with students are those in which we start to make connections between the work they do as students and the energy they devote to other parts of their lives.
What was your path to Newnan? I’ve advised students in a number of different ways: first as an advisor to underrepresented students at Boston College, then as an advisor to undeclared majors in the College of Arts and Sciences at B.C., and finally as an advisor to English majors at Marygrove College, where I also taught as an Assistant Professor of English. At each step I’ve focused on helping students do their best work and make the most of the resources and opportunities that college campuses offer.
What do you enjoy about working in Newnan? I enjoy speaking with students and colleagues that share my interests and passions, but even more than that I love talking with students who are learning material and planning for careers far afield from my experiences. It’s thrilling when we find unexpected common ground!
Class you loved and why? My favorite course was a class on modernism; the professor read James Joyce’s Ulysses (my favorite novel!) aloud and commented on it along the way. Hearing the text in the professor’s Irish accent made the words come to life in a way they never had in my head.
Interests and hobbies: My scholarly interests are in modernist literature, which I love to read and discuss. I also read and watch a lot of fantasy and sci-fi. I never miss a chance to go to the DIA, which has some wonderful 19th-century American landscape paintings (my favorite visual genre). I grew up in Buffalo, so I’m an avid Bills fan despite the years of disappointment. For dessert, I love marshmallows, and key lime pie is a close second.
