Author: gabe_t

Advisor of the Month – August 2016

Nominees

Rachel Steele

 Rachel hasn’t even been here a year, but she has run with all of the curveballs she’s been thrown. She is a great asset to our office, helping to construct our survey materials.

Kris Wethington

 Kris has been a great help to us in ASC Honors. We are shorthanded and with her help she has made our first week of the term less stressful. A huge thank you to Kris!!

Breanna Falb

 While I was out on maternity leave Breanna has been a steady force in our advising office. She managed our Student Ambassador program, preparing for Survey solo, and approving Campus Change requests in addition to her standard advising duties of student appointments, Orientation, and being part of the BBC committee. During my transition back to work she has been patient with my many questions about CANVAS, policy changes since I have been gone, and picking up my slack in general even though I know she continues to be very busy with her own projects. Her patience and humor have not failed through a very long summer and the start of a very busy Autumn and she is an asset to our office.

Megan Daniels

 Megan has been a wonderful supporter for our international student population this year! She has volunteered to serve on several committees to help us improve the student experience, as well as, to help out with our orientation presentations. (She usually has the students rolling with laughter throughout the presentation!) Megan does a wonderful job of connecting with the students and letting them know that the advisors on campus are here to support them. The beginning of autumn semester is a busy time, and we appreciate that Megan takes the time to volunteer for these activities.

Mary Leist

 Mary has taken on several new responsibilities in her department, including managing the scholarships, and hiring over fifty student employees. She has continued to provide excellent service to our students, faculty, and staff, as well as leadership for our department.

Alissa Kasmer

 Alissa has had to train two new advisors in one year and has done a wonderful job of doing so, all while balancing more responsibilities in her own new role. She has never once made us feel less than for making a mistake or asking millions of questions a day, even during the craziness of freshman and international orientation! Not only is she an asset to her co-workers, but she goes above and beyond for her students and is one of the biggest student advocates I know!

Ruth Ann Karl

 Ruth Ann really did go the extra mile for International Orientation for Fisher College. She worked overtime to get full-time schedules for students and to make sure students followed-up with placement exams/transfer credit/OIA/etc. Ruth Ann cares about students and goes out of her way to make sure they are set for success. Her extra work has made the first week of classes much easier on the rest of the advising staff. Way to go Ruth Ann!!

Winners

Kris Wethington

Alissa Kasmer

Advisor of the Month – June 2016

Nominees

Karen Elekes Karen is an excellent advisor, who is always looking for ways to improve the advising process. Recently, Karen developed a spreadsheet which easily allows advisors to fill in a student’s coursework to meet the requirements for graduation in each of the three majors in the department. The spreadsheet lists critical information on each class, such as prerequisites and when it is offered, so that students can easily see the sequence of classes they need to follow in order to graduate. She distributed this spreadsheet to all of the other advisors in the department, who have commented on how easy it makes schedule planning with the students. They use it to work though course plans with each student, then print it out or email it to the student to help guide them through future semesters.
Karen cares deeply about student success, and is deserving of this award.
Sarah Howard Sarah has easily transitioned into EXP and taken on the lead in important work and reporting. She is also our CARMEN liaison and did a nice overview/training for us on the new platform. Thanks Sarah!
Audrey Van Ostran Audrey took on an important project in our office right in the midst of Orientation. She coordinated work for an individual from the PIECE program (a program that facilitates employment experiences for adults with disabilities). Our office is committed to not only helping students but also to helping others less fortunately than ourselves find success.
Audrey has made John feel welcome and worked hard to find tasks that he could accomplish and feel good about.
Thank you Audrey for going above and beyond!
Austin Mack Austin goes the extra mile in identifying new ways to streamline business processes through use of technology. This month he developed a prototype to handle transfer credit documentation submissions through Qualtrics. The new system is designed to ensure that all docs are accounted for before submission, thereby alleviating back and forth emails. Thanks Austin!

 

Austin has been coming to the BIO Day 1 orientations this summer to handle questions about all things MATH. This is very helpful for the students, families, and advisors. Austin is also very helpful when answering emails from advisors. He is very positive and patient when explaining information in his email replies. Thank you Austin for helping our students during the BIO Day 1 orientations this summer (and last summer)!
Deni Allman Deni cares deeply for the well-being of her students, and she goes above and beyond to make sure she has up-to-date resources and information to help guide them through their undergraduate careers.
Brenda Dinan Brenda is a fantastic leader/captain for our BIO SCI Cluster in Arts and Sciences. She keeps us organized and well informed of information we need to know to be effective advisors. Our orientations run very smoothly due to her excellent communication skills, positive attitude, patience, and overall knowledge base. Thank you Brenda for being an awesome leader for the BIO SCI Cluster!
Rosie Quinzon-Bonello Rosie does a great job working with the students and families during orientation. She is clear and realistic regarding the academic work load for her students, but is also kind and encouraging. She explains things very thoroughly and the College of Engineering is stronger due to her work and leadership.
Laura Whitaker Laura is always a calming voice of reason even during the most chaotic times in our office. She is always willing to help another advisor and answer questions – she is an awesome team player! Laura also is a great listener and sees the humor in life. She makes our office a fun place to work!
Kelli Swackhamer Kelli has really been taking on a lot this summer. She is teaching survey for the Newark campus and using Canvas before the other advisors. She has taken on a new advising roster with new majors and is leading the scheduling room at orientation for those new majors. She is also planning and developing a new peer mentoring program for the survey class for Autumn semester. In addition, she has managed to fit in some professional development activities and presented with Erin Brown at the Ohio Academic Advising Association conference in June. Whew! I am tired just typing all of the things she has done! Thank you, Kelli for all that you do!

Winners

Kelli Swackhamer

Deni Allman

2016 Banquet Photos

Advisor of the Month – May 2016

Nominees

Andrea Evans She’s a rock-start Orientation coordinator!
Melissa Basford Melissa is an excellent advisor for students completing the Biology major and Biology minor. She provides excellent advising help and support for our students, and she is very helpful and provides great enthusiasm and input within our office. She collaborates very well with others on the Biology advising team, and she has a very positive attitude. She is also a wonderful program manager for the Biological Sciences Scholars Program. She plans and implements many outstanding programs and activities for the students in the Biological Sciences Scholars program. She has also been actively involved in ACADAOS this year serving as a co-chair for the Awards and Recognition Committee. Melissa and Brad Fittes did a fantastic job in organizing and hosting the annual ACADAOS Awards Banquet a few weeks ago.
Brad Fittes Brad is a wonderful resource and advocate for our students served through the Office of Military and Veterans Services. Several of my students have commented on how helpful and knowledgeable Brad is when helping them. Brad is also an excellent resource for advisors. He is always very kind, helpful, and patient. He explains information clearly, and he is very willing to explain information a second time if needed. Brad has been actively involved in ACADAOS this year serving as the co-chair for the Awards and Recognition Committee. Brad and Melissa Basford did an excellent job organizing and hosting the annual ACADAOS Awards Banquet a few weeks ago.
Mike Knisley Mike has done an excellent job in all of his work with Engineering Honors Orientation! He is thorough, thoughtful, and well organized in all that he does. I feel lucky to have him as a colleague and appreciate all the time, energy, and attention that he provides to our engineering students and families.
Ruth Ann Karl Ruth Ann is a multi-tasking master. She coordinated the training for five new advisors in our office. This complicated task involved coordinating meetings with numerous offices and dozens of individuals, preparing print materials and coordinating a campus tour. She took great care to make sure the new staff felt welcomed and would have a thorough training.

While coordinating these trainings, Ruth Ann finished teaching a spring semester class, prepared for transfer orientation and made and updated the orientation open course list in addition to completing everyday advising tasks. Ruth Ann contributes to our office in so many ways and is always focused on helping students succeed.
Ruth Ann Karl Ruth Ann has done an outstanding job preparing training and on-boarding materials for five new Fisher College of Business advisors. Her organization and careful planning helps our advisors feel comfortable in their roles more quickly and utilizes other staff members time and expertise more effectively. Thank you, Ruth Ann!!!
Chris Adams Not only do students absolutely love Chris, but he is a wonderful co-worker and mentor. He makes difficult situations seem manageable and puts others before himself without hesitation. He is always professional, yet fun-loving, which makes for the best type of advisor and advising administrator.
Lindsay Tolchin Lindsay works tirelessly to help her students find the right program. Most of her students will not be able to get into the major, but she does an outstanding job of helping them find a program that matches their skills and interests. She is also a tremendous advocate for underrepresented students, the BBC program, and her colleagues.

Winners

Ruth Ann Karl

Mike Knisley

Advisor of the Month – July 2016

Nominees

Austin Mack Karen is an excellent advisor, who is always looking for ways to improve the advising process. Recently, Karen developed a spreadsheet which easily allows advisors to fill in a student’s coursework to meet the requirements for graduation in each of the three majors in the department. The spreadsheet lists critical information on each class, such as prerequisites and when it is offered, so that students can easily see the sequence of classes they need to follow in order to graduate. She distributed this spreadsheet to all of the other advisors in the department, who have commented on how easy it makes schedule planning with the students. They use it to work though course plans with each student, then print it out or email it to the student to help guide them through future semesters.
Karen cares deeply about student success, and is deserving of this award.
Supaphen Niroula Sarah has easily transitioned into EXP and taken on the lead in important work and reporting. She is also our CARMEN liaison and did a nice overview/training for us on the new platform. Thanks Sarah!
Andrea Evans Audrey took on an important project in our office right in the midst of Orientation. She coordinated work for an individual from the PIECE program (a program that facilitates employment experiences for adults with disabilities). Our office is committed to not only helping students but also to helping others less fortunately than ourselves find success.
Audrey has made John feel welcome and worked hard to find tasks that he could accomplish and feel good about.
Thank you Audrey for going above and beyond!
Jena Bernth Austin goes the extra mile in identifying new ways to streamline business processes through use of technology. This month he developed a prototype to handle transfer credit documentation submissions through Qualtrics. The new system is designed to ensure that all docs are accounted for before submission, thereby alleviating back and forth emails. Thanks Austin!

Austin has been coming to the BIO Day 1 orientations this summer to handle questions about all things MATH. This is very helpful for the students, families, and advisors. Austin is also very helpful when answering emails from advisors. He is very positive and patient when explaining information in his email replies. Thank you Austin for helping our students during the BIO Day 1 orientations this summer (and last summer)!

Winners

Supaphen Niroula

Andrea Evans