Academic Advising Center Names Three Outstanding Advisors
Among the many outstanding academic advisors who served first- and second-year students last year, two were recently named “2015-16 Advisor of the Year” by the Academic Advising Center.
Catherine Admay, a lecturer in the Sanford School of Public Policy, and Sue Wasiolek, associate vice president for student affairs, both received the honor, said David Rabiner, director of the AAC. Admay’s students praised her for being supportive but also for challenging them to describe why they were choosing their paths, Rabiner said. Wasiolek’s nominators highlighted her caring nature and willingness to take the time to get to know students.
“A number of advisors were strongly valued by their advisees who reported that they helped them in multiple ways,” said Rabiner, who compiled the nominations from students. Within this very strong group of advisors, Dean Sue and Admay stood out.
“Dean Sue has seen me through a lot,” wrote one student. “She genuinely cares about me as a person and always makes time to see me/hear me vent about anything and everything. I had a very hard time adjusting to my first year at Duke and I mean it when I say Dean Sue helped me immensely. I love it here now but I know that my happiness and success would not have been possible without her.”
A student who nominated Admay called her “amazing.” “At one point this year I had no idea what I wanted to study and was incredibly stressed about major declaration. She walked me through ways to make this essential decision and gave me specific tasks to complete to help me decide – talk with three professors in three different fields and spend time writing each week about what I am really interested in.”
Award winners Catherine Admay, Sue Wasiolek and Betty Chen.
The “Peer Advisor of the Year” award, which goes to a student who serves as an exceptional mentor to other students, went to Betty Chen T’17, a math major who is planning to teach middle-school students. Rachael Murphey-Brown, an assistant dean of Trinity College and director of the Peer Advising Program, said Chen’s knowledge, maturity, confidence and compassion were praised repeatedly, as well as her ability to counsel students with the gamut of majors and interests, from pre-med to theater studies.
One faculty member wrote, “Betty seems to have an encyclopedic understanding of what courses are offered at Duke.” Another wrote that advisors with 30 years of experience could learn from Chen’s approach.
“She listens very carefully to what the student is concerned about,” the faculty member wrote. “(Betty’s) immediate response is one of knowledge and facts, as she knows the curricular requirements to a tee.
“She very carefully acknowledges the "emotional" aspects of the student's concerns….finally, she works with the student to identify choices, further empowering the student to recognize that they are in charge.”