Lirona Joshi
Staff Writer
Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honor society that recognizes academic success in freshmen, is partnering with the Troy University Center for Student Success to organize “Ask the Advisors” in an effort to bridge the divide between the advisers and advisees.
The event will focus on how students can work with their advisers and how they can use that relationship for academic and career success.
The event will be held in Patterson Hall Room 201 on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m.
“Students sometimes have a difficulty in communicating or even knowing what types of subjects are appropriate for the context of conversation with their adviser,” said Jonathan Cellon, associate dean of first-year studies. “We want students to realize the potential that exists for adviser-advisee relationships, which can benefit the student long-term.”
According to Cellon, advising does have an academic focus, but also ranges into personal issues like a student’s career plan.
“On short term, students and advisers focus on the classes that need to be taken, where they are offered and what sequence they need to be taken in,” Cellon said. “However, in the longer run, students work on their resume and references with their advisers and seek for leads on graduate schools and jobs.
“We’ll be talking through all these aspects and have a question-and-answer session from a panel of advisers on what is required on the student’s end to best create this relationship.”
Students usually have problems relating to what courses they should take and in what sequence, according to Cellon.
He added that many students, especially those joining the university as development students (conditional enrollment), can get overwhelmed with their course load once they enter regular classes.
“Advisers help the students to foster a sense of balance where they are challenged in their classes, but are not overburdened with the course load they’re taking,” Cellon said.
Advisers can help students with a lot more than signing up for classes, according to Kerissa Justice, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Montgomery and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta.
“Not many people know what the purpose of their adviser is, other than to just sign off on their classes,” Justice said. “We’re trying to let them know early on what their advisers can do to help them with their career in the future.”
According to Cellon, working with student support advisers can let undeclared students get a head start on what their targeted major is and how it can be used for their future career.
“The process starts right at the beginning of college, and initial steps are as important as the last ones,” he said. “Students usually think that they don’t have to worry about these issues until the very end, and oftentimes, by then, there are things that are already set that can’t be changed.”
“Anyone that has questions about campus life in general, not just about advising, can come, since we have all these amazing professors who will be joining us to answer about college life,” said Justice.
