| Fall 2021 - ImPACt Newsletter
Welcome to the ImPACt newsletter which highlights the most notable happenings in the world of Academic Advising at Oakland University. On behalf of the Professional Advisers Council (PAC), thank you for taking a moment to read about the achievements of professional advisers and the impact they have made this semester across campus.
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| | 2021-2022 PAC Executive Board
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Chair
Kurtis Kirkpatrick
School of Engineering and Computer Science
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Chair-Elect
Annie Hegedus
College of Arts and Sciences
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Secretary
Denica Holzworth
School of Business Administration
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Treasurer
Adam McChesney
School of Business Administration
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| | New Advisers and Positions
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Position ChangesBrian WigmanBrian joined the FYAC on August 16 after serving for a year and a half in Pre-Professional Advising. He has also been a special lecturer in the Honors College and was a temporary adviser in the FYAC during Summer 2021. He is a two-time OU alum having earned a BA in Communication and MS in Counseling.
Meagan RichardMeagan started as a Senior Adviser in the Honors College in June 2021. She comes to the HC with a wealth of experience and skills, including most recently serving as Academic Adviser in the College of Arts and Sciences Advising for over four years.
Christina RadowickChristina started as an Academic Adviser in the College of Arts and Sciences in July 2021. Prior to coming to CAS, Christina worked in the FYAC for a year and a half and also previously held multiple roles in the Office of the Registrar.
Simone Amalio-KlebbaSimone also was hired as an Academic Adviser in CAS in July 2021. She is a recent graduate of the Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership program at OU and was a temporary adviser in the FYAC this summer. Before her time in the FYAC she worked as an intern in BIS Advising and as a graduate assistant in e-Learning.
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New Adviser and Intern HiresKaitlyn CarolloThe FYAC welcomed Kaitlyn Carollo in August 2021 as a nine-month academic adviser working with test-optional students entering OU with high school GPAs below 3.0. Kaitlyn received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from MSU and her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from OU. She was actively involved as a peer assistant/mentor for first year students and with a Trio program during undergrad.
Sarah BodnarSarah Bodnar also joined the FYAC in August 2021 is also working with test-optional students. Sarah received two degrees from OU - Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Arts in Communication. She recently served as a Graduate Assistant in Annual Giving.
Noah FrancisBIS has an intern for the 2021-2022 year. Noah Francis is completing his master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling here at OU and is pursuing advising as a career.
Haleigh LewisThe SECS Advising Office welcomes Haleigh Lewis who will be interning in our office for the 2021-2022 academic year! She is in the second year of the Masters of Higher Education Leadership (MAHEL) program and is also a Graduate Residence Director on campus.
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School of Education and Human Services HR Job and Internship Recruitment NightOn Thursday, October 14th, SEHS Advising collaborated with the HRD program and Career Services to host our third annual HR Recruitment Night! We had 15 employers in attendance - the largest number so far - and over 50 students registered. It's a great event to help connect students in our HR programs to potential employers and job/internship opportunities.
MTTC Tutoring SessionsSEHS Advising is hosting Monday evening tutoring sessions from 4:30pm-5:30pm in the Fall semester for students preparing to take the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification Elementary Education Exam
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CAS, SBA, SECS, and SHS
Major and Minor ExpoThis year, the School of Business Administration, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health Sciences, and School of Engineering and Computer Science partnered to present the 2021 Major and Minor Expo. Denica Holzworth (SBA), Sarah Konrad (SECS), Annie Hegedus (CAS), and Janice Eaton (SHS) took the lead on planning this event. We had 175 students join us at the in-person expo on November 2, 2021, in the Banquet and Ballrooms of the OC. It was a chance for all students on campus to explore the different majors, minors, and specializations in each of these areas by talking with faculty, employers, and alumni.
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Bachelor of Integrated StudiesBIS for Success BIS advising staff put on an event called "BIS for Success" to help students learn practical tips to be the most successful in their courses. BIS collaborated with Career Services and the Tutoring Center for this event.
Welcome Back!BIS welcomed students back to campus on August 31 at our first in person event since 2019 at our Fall Kick Off. We had a great time playing lawn games, eating lunch, and chatting with our students!
Internships and BIS Noah, our BIS intern, planned and organized an event for students to learn about incorporating an internship into their BIS plan of study.
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School of Engineering and Computer ScienceSarah Konrad
Sarah Konrad recently collaborated with Kelli Foskic, SECS Career Services Career Consultant, SECS Faculty, and SECS students for an "Exploring Research Opportunities for Undergrads" workshop. SECS students were invited to learn more about the value of research experience, and pathways to finding and collaborating with faculty on research opportunities.
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Bachelor of Integrative StudiesLindsay Zeig and Sarah JahimiakLindsay Zeig and Sarah Jahimiak presented remotely at the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies international conference on 10/16 on Generational Differences in the classroom and a panel of 5 BIS students (depicted below) joined us to share their experiences.
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SECS & SBA
Sarah Konrad (SECS) and Tiffany LeDonne Smith (SBA)
Sarah Konrad and Tiffany LeDonne Smith led a workshop focused on advising awards. During their session, “Creating Your Advising Portfolio and Applying for Awards - Tips and Tricks”, advisers learned about the process for applying for OU’s Outstanding Adviser of the Year and New Adviser of the Year awards, as well as NACADA, NACADA Region 5, and MIACADA awards. Sarah and Tiffany shared their experience creating their nomination packets and best practices to encourage others to highlight their advising accomplishments.
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Outstanding Advisers!
Adviser of the Month Recipients- Tessa Johnson, FYAC - April 2021
- Jackie Keith, SBA - May 2021
- Rachel Stagman, FYAC - June 2021
- Carmen Etienne, SECS - July 2021
- Emily Hall, BIS - August 2021
- Jordan Ross, FYAC - September 2021
- Katherine McMullen, SON - October 2021
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School of Business AdministrationWomen's Leadership and Mentor ProgramThe Women's Leadership and Mentor Program through the School of Business Administration has welcomed nine students and nine professional mentors to the program this year. The program kicked off with a virtual event earlier this fall and will conclude at the end of the winter semester. Through this program students have the opportunity to meet one on one with a professional for guidance and mentorship with additional opportunities to build their leadership skills. For more information on the program please visit the website.
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First Year Advising CenterPeer AdvisersNew for this year, the First Year Advising Center has added Peer Advisers to their team of student employees! Each FYAC adviser has a Peer Adviser they partner with to provide additional support to their caseload of students. The Peer Advisers host weekly Meet Me hours around campus, send weekly announcements via Remind app, plan academic/social events, and work with their FYAC adviser to complete phone and email outreach. This initiative has created more channels to communicate important messages and gives first year students the opportunity to connect with student leaders in the OU community.
Flipped Advising Approach: Your First Year eSpace Building on our success using eSpace to prepare students for virtual orientations in Summer 2020, the First Year Advising Center launched a new eSpace for 2021 called Your First Year. The eSpace serves as a resource hub for our students and is the platform we're using to implement a Flipped Advising approach. Before meeting with their adviser, students review a specific module with information and activities to prepare for the appointment. This allows the advising session to move past information sharing and into deeper conversations about each student's unique needs and plans. In addition to the pre-meeting modules, we included a module for course registration support and another with answers to common start of the term questions so the Your First Year eSpace can serve as a go-to resource through many milestones of the first year experience.
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| | PAC Professional Development
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Advising Wellness CommitteePumpkin DecoratingOn Monday, October 18, PAC Wellness coordinated a stress buster during this spooky season: pumpkin decorating. This half an hour provided a way for advisers to channel their inner creativity.
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Multi-Unit Collaboration Academic CoachingIn the Summer 2021 semester Mariana Allushuski (Tutoring Center), Kacie Cadotte (SECS Advising), Melanie Chamberlain (SEHS Advising), Nancy Osmialowski (SHS Advising), and Lindsay Zeig (BIS Advising) joined forces to develop a series of professional development workshops to share information on academic coaching with the PAC community.
Academic coaching is a strategy to engage students in advising sessions in a way that focuses on their needs and strengths, and empowers them to find solutions to overcome challenges. The first coaching session was held on August 17th and had 35 advisers in attendance. Six coaching skills were highlighted, and advisers were given the opportunity to apply those skills to several common student scenarios. A follow-up session was held on October 13th where advisers had an opportunity to debrief on how implementing coaching skills in their appointments has gone - as well as role play with a colleague to continue practicing their skills.
There is one final follow-up session scheduled for December 8th. All advisers are encouraged to attend - even if they were unable to attend the first two sessions. Learning together has been so much fun!
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