Advising and Supporting
Through my graduate internship I have been able to serve several advising roles. I have been able to directly advise branches of Dance Marathon and the Homecoming Student Steering Committee. Each of these advising experiences have allowed me to hold one on one meetings with student leaders, discuss goal setting, talk through issues, and build relationships. I have also been able to serve as an advisor to student organizations in a more hands off way, answering any questions organizations might have regarding Office of Campus Activities policies and procedures. The Advising and Supporting competency discusses having an understanding of supporting style as well as how to understand the needs of the students. Within my role of advisor over the past two years, I have been able to develop the skills necessary to be exemplary in the realm of Advising and Supporting.
Within my role of directly advising two large student organizations, I have been able to build critical relationships that I value most out of graduate school experience. I strive to make sure that any student that I advise feels supported by me. My artifact that shows my commitment to Advising and Supporting comes in the form of personal testimonies from students that I have both advised and supported over my two years in graduate school (see below for personal testimonials from students I have worked with). One of the students that I have directly advised stated that, “Julie definitely comes at advising from a place of care and wanting to make sure that the students she is working with are looking at how their programming can impact the campus in the most inclusive way possible” (Goeglein, personal communication, January, 2016). Being able to directly advise Dance Marathon and Homecoming have allowed myself to develop new skills in assessing the needs of individual students as well as organizations as a whole. Having an organization that I am more closely affiliated to, I am able to push the students that I work with to continually strive to do better. While setting goals and expectations during advising one on one meetings, I also revisit those goals, especially if a student is not meeting those agreed upon by the two of us.
As an ambassador during I-Days, Julie was very positive and encouraging. She was effectively able to explain the concept of “fit” and provided examples of how we as candidates could determine which internships might be a better fit for us than others. When people had questions, she was able to answer them in a clear way and guide us through the unique process that is BGSU I-Days. She made an effort to speak one on one with each of the individuals in her ambassador group, making sure they were doing well and supporting them through the process and willing to have conversations with them about their experiences.
- Sadie (I served as an Interview Days Ambassador for her)
Having Julie as an advisor for not a specific organization but overall help with anything related to student organizations and events has been incredibly helpful. When I have been able to work with Julie, I have always thought that her guidance is empowering to myself and other students she advises to continue to find the right answer on our own and to run with our ideas. With all of our interactions, Julie has made the environment comfortable and positive
- Katie (Did not directly work with)
I have not had the chance to be directly advised by Julie but have been witness to see the way she advises. I worked the front desk in the Office of Campus Activities were she served as a Graduate Student, every day I was able to see the way she conducted her meetings with students by the way she greeted them and spoke with them continuously throughout the meeting offering ideas to help with events, trips, or organization specific situations. As an employee in the office I was able to use her as a reliable resource when I had questions from students coming into the office that I was not able to answer. This Spring I also attended "FLARE" (Presidents Academy) where Julie was the facilitator for my small group. While discussing different topics of inclusion, diversity, and Greek Life, Julie was able to start a conversation with each of us participating and established that it was a safe area. From that, I feel that she is very successful at allowing students to get what they need out of meetings. Lastly, from my experience with Julie as a Graduate Student she has provided endless positive encouragement to all the students and peers around her, BGSU will miss her!
-Aislin (Served as her FLARE facilitator)
Another aspect of my commitment to the Advising and Supporting competency are the daily interactions that I have with student organizations that have questions. I serve as the liaison for six different categories of organizations, acting as the point person in case any organization in one of those categories has a question. Though this role does not allow me to create goals and expectations, I am able to continue along the outcome of “assess the developmental needs of students and organizational needs of student groups” (ACPA & NASPA 2015, p. 37). When any student comes into the office, I am able to answer their questions, understanding that each student might need to receive information a different way. I have reached out to students via email, phone, or in person in order to best relay messages regarding policies, procedures, or questions.
My approach to advising and supporting my students has developed and changed over the course of my time at Bowling Green State University. Because of my commitment to the competency of Advising and Supporting, I have learned valuable skills and knowledge about how to assess student needs, how to convey vulnerability and authenticity, and how creating a relationship can be an effective means of advising. All parts of my advising knowledge base come together in order to best serve the students that I work with.
Julie takes advising to new level. She is intentional about connecting with the students that she is advising and makes sure to go beneath the surface. Her ability to recognize when something seemed off with my attitude or interactions she would make sure to ask questions that got at the root of how I was feeling. Instead of solely focusing on the work that we needed to get done for homecoming she always made sure that I was taking care of myself. I think a sort of hallmark of Julie’s advising style is that she was always open to going the extra mile and doing the less glamorous work. She never hesitate to step up and offer an opinion in order to make sure that we were seeing the whole picture. Julie definitely comes at advising from a place of care and wanting to make sure that the students she is working with are looking at how their programming can impact the campus in the most inclusive way possible. This became clear when Julie got right on board with restructuring the Homecoming Student Steering Committee to be more inclusive of traditional underrepresented students. Julie is not just an advisor, she is a mentor and friend.
- Derek (I directly advised Derek on the Homecoming Student Steering Committee)