IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE - MARION

Academic advisors serve as one of the primary guides, coaches, and advocates in a student's support network. Ivy Tech, the largest single-accredited community college system in the United States, is the community college of the state of Indiana; as such, its administration and staff fully embrace the concept of "meeting students where they are and taking them where they want to go." As an academic advisor, I build meaningful and professional relationships with students, working to help them discern and articulate their goals as they develop a plan for their education. Additional responsibilities include case management, assisting in course registration and financial aid questions, promoting retention and persistence through proactive interventions, and motivational interviewing.

BALL STATE UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF STUDENT CONDUCT

Title IX is a federal law prohibiting educational institutions, programs, or activities that receive federal funding from exclusion or discrimination on the basis of sex. Since its enactment in 1972, Title IX has evolved to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, expanding also to forms of discrimination that include stalking and sexual harassment. In accordance with new regulations passed in 2020, institutions nationwide have implemented the Title IX Advisor role, which serves as a representative to complainants and respondents in meetings, interviews, and conduct hearings. Per these regulations, colleges and universities are required to provide the involved parties with a trained Advisor if they do not procure one for themselves. I had the opportunity to serve as a Title IX Advisor during my last semester of graduate school. 

IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAMILTON COUNTY - ACADEMIC ADVISING

Ivy Tech is the community college for the entire state of Indiana, managing 19 campuses across the state. I completed a semester-long practicum experience with their youngest campus in Hamilton County, working as a coordinating liaison between Academic Advising and Student Life. In this experience, I had the opportunity to plan the annual Graduate and Transfer Fair, co-facilitate academic advising sessions and enrollment center visits, and create strategic communications for students, faculty, and staff to bolster student success efforts. Notably, these communications included classroom presentations for success strategies, as well as plug-in-value email templates for responding to student alerts. In organizing the Graduate and Transfer Fair, I developed key skills in collaboration, project management, and interdepartmental communication, working with stakeholders across multiple offices and even expanding to the broader community in the county. The result was an outstanding celebration of student achievement and connection to new future endeavors!

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY - HODSON HALL

Undergraduate student staff at Indiana Wesleyan includes a team of Resident Assistants (RAs), a chaplain, and an Assistant Resident Director (ARD). The ARD position was designed for an experienced RA to take on additional responsibility by coordinating hall-wide operations. Some of these operations include budgeting, hiring and supervising a front desk staff, stocking the front desk and managing income, all-hall programming, and weekly one-on-one meetings with the rest of the team (including the Resident Director). 

This experience looked vastly different for me, however, in that the Resident Director position was vacant for the majority of my tenure as ARD. On top of the usual responsibilities, I served as the main point-person for the building for residents, hall staff, and professional staff campus-wide. I also led the RA team during Fall training, weekly meetings, and a year filled with conflict and controversy at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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