To me academic advising at its core is building a partnership with students that is rooted in mutual respect, trust, and open communication. In my advising sessions I make it a point to build rapport with students by learning about them as an individual person. I learn about a student’s background, their values, life experiences, and aspirations. Building an advising partnership where students feel like they are seen, heard, and valued for who they are as a person serves as the foundation to how I approach academic advising.
Establishing a partnership with a student is a crucial first step to understand their needs and be able to empower them throughout their educational journey. I specifically use a Strengths Based Advising approach when working with students. This approach argues students are individuals who possess much of what they need to grow and succeed in higher education (Schreiner, L.A., & Anderson, E.C, 2005). I make it a point to remind my students that they have unique experiences and skills which make them capable of overcoming any challenge. Being able to empower students facing academic difficulty has made academic advising so meaningful to me. I have been able to see students reflect and identify their specific strengths and then go on to use these and overcome academic challenges. This advising approach allows me to motivate students, help them build their confidence, and provide them a sense of belonging through affirmations. I am a firm believer that students have what it takes to accomplish their goals, as an advisor it’s my job to help students come to this realization by listening to their story and pointing out the strengths and resiliency I see in them.
Bringing inclusiveness to the work I do is another important pillar of my identity as an academic advisor. I value and respect the perspectives and lived experiences of all my students and see the diversity of cultures, races, religions, genders, economic backgrounds, geographic regions, sexualities, and beliefs being represented in my space as our biggest asset. I want students to feel like the space they walk into is a safe zone where they are welcomed to be themselves and feel comfortable. Creating such an advising space makes students trust me as an ally and someone who will advocate for their needs; making our partnership as advisor-advisee that much more meaningful.
Finally, what guides my approach in academic advising is encouraging students to take ownership of their education by challenging students to think critically and then seeing first-hand their personal growth. As an advisor part of my job is to explain policy, procedures, graduation requirements and other sometimes complex process. Once I provide the information to students, I challenge them to think critically and develop their own path forward. I want my students to feel like they have the power to make decisions on their future and not just checking off boxes. My goal after each advising appointment is that students develop a sense of authorship where they are the ones writing their own story during this stage of life. This ultimately leads students into building confidence, autonomy, and a sense of purpose. Seeing this growth in a student first-hand is ultimately what motivates me every day and causes me to take pride in being an academic advisor.
