30 for 30 Member Spotlight: Cynthia Gladstone

Member Spotlight: Cynthia Gladstone

I know Cynthia because she was the ACA historian who handed over the blog and the files to me this year.  She has been a delight to work with and is part of the inspiration for the 30 for 30 project so it is only fitting that she is one of the first members featured.  Enjoy! 

Hometown: El Paso, Texas.

College(s) attended: I have three degrees from UT Austin (B.A. in Government and M.A. and Ph.D. In History), so I bleed orange, but I have also taken course work at UTEP in El Paso, and I did study abroad at the University of London, as it was called then.

Job title(s) and department(s) past and present:

I am a Senior Academic Advisor.  I currently advise for Latin American Studies, Jewish Studies, and Linguistics, and I have also advised in the past for European Studies and History.

How did you end up at UT in the first place? 

I came to college here and pretty much never left.  Well, I left for a while, but came back and THEN never left again.  

What is your favorite part of being a part of ACA?  I

t's a predictable answer, I'm sure, but it's wonderful getting to know advisors from other parts of campus.  It's easy to stay in my little major/college cocoon, and ACA gives me the opportunity to break out of that and form different kinds of connections.  I just finished a year as ACA Historian, and I'm currently on the Awards and Recognition Committee, and I just love the people I have gotten to know in both capacities.  

Here's where we'd like an anecdote about a favorite ACA memory or a memory that includes another ACA member.  Hanging with the awesome Exec Committee last year.  Super fun, smart, accomplished people!

What advice would you give to new advisors or new staff members at UT?  

Be patient with and kind to yourself.  There is a lot to know here, and no one can learn it all in a day.  It'll come, and it never stops coming.  I'm always learning something new.

What legacy would you like to leave behind at UT?  

Good question.  I guess I'd like to feel like I made a difference in my students' lives.  Sounds kind of grandiose, but isn't that what we strive for?

Anything else you want to tell us?  Sure.  Hook 'Em Horns!  (We just beat OU!)