How do you help students discover their best path?

I tend to ask a lot of curiosity questions about the student's interests, goals, strengths and use that information to offer areas of consideration as they make decisions.

What's an opportunity you took in college that you're glad you didn't miss?

Working as an RA. I met so many great people and had wonderful experiences to develop leadership skills, learn about others, and formulate friendships I maintain to this day.

What was a challenge you faced in college and how did you work through it?

I didn't get great feedback in my clinical classes, so I was a senior who was accepted to a graduate program I was no longer sure I wanted. My undergrad. degree didn't provide opportunities to work in a related field without a master's degree, so I felt much pressure to figure out next steps in a short timeframe based on my interests and goals. I worked through it by doing a lot of soul-searching and talking with friends and my supervisor at the time regarding my strengths and areas of interest. Based on identified interest areas, I explored graduate programs, deadlines, application processes, and options. I was accepted to a counseling master's program at my home institution, took additional coursework for a semester as an undergrad to keep my on-campus job, and started grad. courses the following fall.

Where did you grow up? 

Small town of approx. 3000 people: Harlan, IA. A fun fact is that a large cruise ship holds more people than lived in my hometown.