What is your advising philosophy?  I value the relationships that I have with the students I work with and strive to create meaningful connections with each individual. I take a holistic, strengths-based approach when working with students and am mindful of the different roles and responsibilities each person holds, such as student, partner, employee, parent, or friend. My goal is to support students as they work toward their academic and personal goals and create their own definition of success.

What was your path to Newnan? During my time at Eastern Michigan University, I found myself volunteering and working in a variety of roles across campus, which introduced me to the idea of working within higher education/student affairs. By the time I reached my third year of undergrad, I knew that was where I felt most at home. I have held a variety of roles within the sphere of higher education, working largely with first year students and student organizations. My time in the HESA program afforded me the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant within Eastern's Campus Life office with the Student Organizations team. I also held internships as a career peer intern in the University Advising and Career Development Center at EMU and an enrollment representative at Cornell. As I started my second year of my Masters program, I began interning with the Communication & Engagement Team within Newnan and found a supportive, welcoming work environment that I was, and still am, excited to grow in as I take on the role of an academic advisor.

Why did you join Newnan? When I first joined Newnan as an intern, it was clear to me that this is a collaborative team committed to students. The staff in Newnan focus on cultivating relationships within and beyond the U-M community to best support the individuals they interact with on a day-to-day basis. These factors and reflections on my own interactions with advisors throughout my academic career made me confident that Newnan is dedicated to the betterment of its staff, the university, and the students it serves.

Class you loved and why? I loved taking EDLD 552 - Intro to Academic Advising at EMU. Our professor was very knowledgable and passionate about the work she did on a daily basis. Our final project for this course involved us creating our own academic advising center. One of our team members was a zoologist who worked with rhinos, and they became the mascot of our fictitious community college. During the course of the semester, we built out an entire website dedicated to serving the students of Keratin Community College - and giving our professor a laugh as we challenged her to find all of the rhino-themed easter eggs hidden throughout the site while grading it.

Interests and hobbies: When I'm not at work, I enjoy traveling and spending time with friends and my dog, Milo. I am an avid concert-goer and love to attend football and baseball games. In addition to these, I enjoy playing and watching tennis as well as hiking and spending time outdoors. While I'm at home I journal, read, listen to music and podcasts, and stream TV and movies - if you have any suggestions I'm always happy to hear them!