What is your advising Philosophy?

I believe advisors are educators. We teach students not just how to navigate the institution and their degree programs, but about goal setting and developing plans for achieving them, thinking critically, time management, shuffling priorities, self-advocacy, appropriate risk taking, overcoming obstacles, responsibility, and so many other things. I am enthusiastic about helping students meet their goals, and I strive to be the advisor a student needs at the time when they walk in my office, meet me on Zoom, call me on the phone, or bump into me on campus. If a student needs a coach, a teacher, a manger, a sounding board, a cheerleader, or what have you, then I need to be that person in that moment.

What was your path to Newnan?

A long and winding road. After retiring from the Air Force then earning my B.A., I was afforded the opportunity to be part of a team that built a First Year Student Advising program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. From there I transitioned to the University of Utah where I continued my academic advising journey. When I saw the opportunity to work with pre-health students at Newnan I leapt at the chance to join this amazing team.

Why did you join Newnan?

Newnan gives me something new to learn every day. Being a part of this team gives me the opportunity to work with students from across the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and learn about their experiences and perspectives and how that history informs their desire to pursue professional degrees in the various health fields. Helping those students reach their educational and professional goals is an awesome responsibility that I take seriously.

Class you loved and why?

One of my required courses in undergrad was "Learning and Behavior" and there was an associated lab. In this lab we received hands-on instruction in operant conditioning by training a rat to lever-press for reinforcement and running different experiments on operant conditioning and schedules of reinforcement. Not a bad way to spend a few hours a week and the rats were kinda cute.

Interests and Hobbies

I get on my motorcycle or bicycle as much as I can. I enjoy watching a hockey game, and if you're a hockey fan and haven't checked out what they're doing in the PWHL (especially rules changes like their "Jailbreak Rule") you're missing out. I play some video games, watch all the MCU and Star Wars things that drop in the theaters and on streaming platforms, and am a huge fan of lazing about.