Advisory Board

Joseph Ballard II is the Director of Student Access, Opportunity, and Success at the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering. He leads the college’s access, opportunity, and student success strategy, such as first-generation initiatives while co-leading the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education’s STEM Success team. With over 15 years of experience, Joseph is dedicated to expanding educational access for all, including those from underserved populations. Driven by a commitment to "pay it forward," he focuses on dismantling barriers and fostering holistic student development, ensuring all individuals are empowered to reach their full potential, achieve success, and find community. 

Dr. Chase serves as the Inaugural Director of the First-Generation Commitment at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and Arts (LSA), where he is responsible for the strategic leadership, design, and implementation of the college’s vision to improve first-generation and limited-income student success. As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Chase brings enthusiasm and experience with developing, designing, implementing, and evaluating student success initiatives within and across higher education institution types. 

Dr. Chase believes in the transformative power of higher education and is excited about building this new and exciting department. As a practitioner-scholar, Dr. Chase’s professional experience and scholarship cut across two areas: student success and identity-centered engagement. 

Jen Oza Grysko has dedicated over a decade to supporting University of Michigan students pursuing pre-professional pathways. She currently works in the LSA Newnan Academic Advising Center, where she supports the Pre-Health and Pre-Law Academic Advising teams. As a first-generation college student herself, Jen is deeply invested in identifying ways the institution can expand access to information, opportunities, resources, and experiences for all students.

Throughout her tenure, she has served on multiple institutional committees focused on examining the structure and landscape of pre-professional student support. Jen has also chaired two committees through the Advising Council at the University of Michigan (ACUM), served as Secretary on the Executive Board of the Central Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, and held the role of Region 2 Director for Alpha Epsilon Delta, a national pre-health honor society.

Emma Hirsch is a sophomore studying Biochemistry and Business Administration at the University of Michigan. She joined the Science Learning Center as a tutor in 2025 and is involved in Nucleate Michigan and TAMID Group. Emma is passionate about biotechnology and cardiac innovation, and she is running the 2026 Chicago Marathon with the American Heart Association’s Team Run with Heart.

Tashya Jayasuriya is a proud Michigan alum, as well as an SLC alum. In addition to participating in SLC study groups in undergrad, she was also a SLC physics study group leader for five semesters and was voted study group leader of the year. After undergrad, she attended the University of Michigan Medical School  where she was awarded a National Health Service Corps scholarship, followed by pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. After completing her residency, she worked in rural California as an outpatient general pediatrician with the National Health Service Corps.

Now, she works in Hawaii, seeing patients, teaching medical students, and precepting residents. When she’s not working, she loves baking, reading, running, crocheting, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.

Konstantina Karageorgos is the Director of Faculty and Curriculum for the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP). Before joining CSP, Konstantina was an Assistant Professor of English at the State University of New York Oneonta, where she specialized in twentieth- and twenty-first-century African American literature and culture, anti- and decolonial theory, and the connections between historical traditions of dissent and emergent forms of protest.

She brings to CSP experience designing, teaching, and assessing a range of cross-disciplinary courses along with expertise in critical and inclusive pedagogy, high-impact teaching and mentorship, and curriculum development. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, running, and practicing yoga, and as a committed internationalist, she believes deeply in the power of study, struggle, and service to build a better world.

Eva Pierce is originally from Tampa, Florida. She is currently a Junior majoring in Biology at the University of Michigan on the Pre-PA track. She has been working as a part of the Front Desk Staff at the SLC for two years. In this position, Eva greets patrons and helps them with queries about classroom locations and loaning out SLC materials. 

Rachel Riley is a junior from Belleville, Michigan, studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology with a minor in Music. Outside of the classroom, she tutors Organic Chemistry through the SLC, conducts surgical research in the Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) laboratory, volunteers at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and plays the trumpet in the Michigan Marching Band. In the future, she hopes to attend medical school and pursue a career as an Obstetrics and Gynecology physician.

Ginger Shultz is an Arthur Thurnau Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Michigan. Her research program focuses on understanding how college-level chemistry instructors learn to teach, how writing supports learning and reasoning in science, and how teachers develop and enact culturally relevant educational methods in STEM. She was awarded the NSF early career award and has received numerous awards for teaching at the University of Michigan.

Jacqueline Suarez is a junior at Michigan studying Public Health on the pre-med track. She has been a peer facilitator for the SLC since the beginning of her sophomore year, first for General Chemistry, and now Organic Chemistry 1. She also serves as one of the three Organic Chemistry 1 course leaders for the 2025-2026 academic year. She has a deep appreciation for teaching and will start as an Undergraduate Instructing Assistant for Organic Chemistry 2 during the winter '26 semester.

Kaydee Szust is a student affairs professional with 10 years of experience working at UM. She currently serves as the Student Services Manager for the Physics department and is also a UM alumna. Her favorite part of working at UM is helping students, faculty and staff accomplish their goals. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts and recently joined a Lousy Bowlers league. 

Laury Wood has taught in the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP) for the past thirty-six years, where she values the program’s strong sense of community and shared commitment to student success. She appreciates the autonomy CSP provides to explore new teaching approaches, as well as the continual opportunities to learn from both her colleagues and her students.

In her Biology 172 course, Laury’s primary goal is to help students develop the critical and analytical thinking skills necessary to understand how bacterial, plant, and animal cells function at the cellular and molecular levels. As one of the first biology courses for life science majors, the course introduces molecular and cellular biology, development, and physiology while emphasizing scientific thinking, lifelong learning, and the relevance of science in everyday life.

The CSP section of Biology 172 fosters an engaging and supportive classroom environment that encourages collaboration and active learning. Laury has maintained a long-standing relationship with the Science Learning Center (SLC) and looks forward to continuing the positive partnership that has benefited CSP students for many years.