Member Spotlight: Sara Schulz

This is a picture of part of my face and my really cute baby.  

Hello!  I thought I would kick-off my term as historian by doing a member spotlight on myself so that the folks out there reading this know a little bit about the current contributor.  If you have any suggestions about what you would like to see on the blog, please email me at sara.schulz@austin.utexas.edu.

Hometown: A little farming community called Vidrine that lies between Ville Platte and Mamou, Louisiana

College(s) attended: University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  I'm a Ragin' Cajun!

Degree(s) earned: BA in English 

Job title: Assistant Academic Advisor

What are you hobbies? Cooking, running, reading, shopping, party planning, and amateur organizer of other people's stuff.  Don't get me started talking about Louisiana food/music/culture because I will talk your ear off!

What is your current job at UT?  I am one of three advisors in the Math Physics Astronomy Advising Center in RLM.  I love our cozy little office and the convenience of having a coffee shop right outside our doors.

How many years have you worked at UT? Well, I'm coming up on the two year mark but I spent my first year in the Registrar's Office and part of my second year on maternity leave so I still feel like a new advisor.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?  I'm still learning so much about the ins and outs of advising.  I'm still developing my sense of what is appropriate for each of the many hats an advisor wears.  

What is your favorite thing about your current job? Seeing my students engaged in what's happening at UT.  I get so excited when they have an interview or make an A on an exam.  The little things! 

Tell us about one of your success stories in your current position (regarding a student, co-worker, project, etc.)  I haven't been here long enough to really see something through to the end.  I've started a lot of things but I haven't really had much in the way of success just yet.  Talk to me again in a year.  

April 2012 ACA General Meeting

The April 4, 2012 ACA General Meeting, sponsored by the College of Communication, featured a presentation by Tommy Darwin from the IE Pre-Graduate School Internship Program, updates from the advising staff at Austin Community College, and information on admissions from Augustine Garza.

A huge THANKS to the College of Communication Student Affairs for sponsoring our meeting.

Intellectual Entrepreneurship Pre-Graduate School Internship
Dr. Tommy Darwin, current Director of the Pre-Graduate School Internship, discussed the benefits of the program and encouraged the ACA membership to spread the word about this excellent program.

Austin Community College - Enrollment Procedures for Visiting UT Students
Former ACA Member Dr. Audra Sneed, Director of Advising Services at the ACC Rio Grande Campus, brought the advising team from ACC to update attendees on enrollment procedures for UT students visiting ACC this summer.

Office of Admissions Updates
Augustine Garza, Deputy Director of Admissions, discussed the profile of the in-coming freshmen class and addressed the yield events sponsored by the Office of Admissions to try to increase matriculation numbers.

Taking Over Academic Advising in the State of Texas
Two long-time members of ACA leave Austin to lead advising initiatives at our sister state institutions.

JP Regalado has accepted a position as Executive Director of Advising at Texas A & M Corpus Christi.  JP has had a career at UT that spans two decades as a student worker in the College of Liberal Arts, an Orientation Advisor, an Academic Advisor in the College of Liberal Arts, and a Senior Program Coordinator in the UGS Longhorn Scholars Program.  JP earned both is BA and his MA from UT Austin.

Audra Sneed, who left UT a few years ago to head the advising center at Austin Community College has recently accepted a position as Director of Advising at the University Advising Center at the University of Texas at Arlington.  During her tenure at UT, Audra worked in the Cockrell School of Engineering as an Academic Advisor and earned her PhD in Higher Education Administration.

Congratulations and thanks for your contributions to the University of Texas advising community!

Member Spotlight: Sarah Arnold

Hometown:  Round Rock, TX

College(s) Attended:  Texas Tech University

Degree(s) Earned:  B.A. in Art History with a Minor in Asian Studies (I just applied to the Texas State MA program in Community Counseling, fingers crossed!!!)

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering    

ACA Member Spotlight: Sara Sanchez

Hometown:  Mathis, TX

College(s) Attended:  The University of Texas at Austin

Degree(s) earned:  B.A. Psychology, M.Ed. Higher Education Administration

Title:  Senior Academic Advisor- McCombs School of Business

What are your hobbies? Hanging out with family and friends, reading, volunteering, church, dog parks, rock concerts

ACA Member Spotlight: Jeff Sellers

Hometown:  Austin, TX

College(s) Attended:   The University of Texas at Austin

Degree(s) earned:  B.S. Advertising, M.Ed. Education Psychology

Title:  Assistant Academic Advisor- School of Undergraduate Studies 

ACA Member Spotlight: Affiong Eyo

Hometown:  Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.

College(s) Attended:   The University of Texas at Austin (Masters) and Northwest Missouri State University (Bachelor’s).

Degree(s) earned:   Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) and a B.Sc. double majoring on Psychology and Sociology with a Spanish Minor.

Title:  Assistant Academic Advisor- School of Social Work

ACA Member Spotlight: Craig Gilden

Hometown:  Sugar Land, TX

College(s) Attended:   Lewis & Clark College, The University of Texas-Austin

Degree(s) earned:   B.A. Rhetoric and Media Studies, M.Ed. Higher Education Administration

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor--College of Liberal Arts:  Dean’s Office

Member Spotlight: Odessa Amaya

Hometown: Knoxville, TN

College(s) Attended:  University of Tennessee and Clemson University

Degree(s) earned:  B.A. Art History and M.Ed. Counseling and Guidance Services

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor—College of Liberal Arts:  Department of English

Member Spotlight: Julia Chinnock

Hometown:   I grew up in Laramie, WY

College(s) Attended:  Nebraska Wesleyan University & Texas State University

Degree(s) earned:   BAs in Theatre Arts & Spanish (from NWU) & MA in Theatre History (from TxState)

Title:  Assistant Academic Advisor- -School of Undergraduate Studies

What are your hobbies? I wish I had something cool to say here like Xtreme underwater nunchuck fighting or something but I mostly like to cook (and bake), read books, see plays and play with my puppy, Avalanche

Member Spotlight: Elizabeth Tutor

Hometown:   Riverside,, CA

College(s) Attended : UT Austin, Texas State University

Degree(s) earned: BA Psychology, MA Professional Counseling

Title:  Career Counselor I- Sanger Learning and Career Center

What are your hobbies? reading, traveling

What was your favorite childhood toy? Books

What is your current position at UT? Briefly explain:  Career Counselor @ the Sanger Learning & Career Center

Member Spotlight: Evelyn Meisell

Hometown:   Odessa Texas, home of Permian Football!  GO MOJO!

College(s) Attended:   University of Texas at Austin

Degree(s) earned:  BBA – Marketing, BS – Kinesiology (Sport Management), M.Ed. – Higher Education Administration

Title:  Assistant Academic  Advisor- McCombs School of Business

Member Spotlight: Angie Martinez

Hometown:   born and raised in El Paso, TX

College(s) Attended:  The University of Texas at Austin 

Degree(s) earned:  Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning & Development

Title:  Program Coordinator- College of Education

Member Spotlight: Juanita Gonzalez

Hometown:  Blackfoot, Idaho

College(s) Attended:  Boise State University

Degree(s) Earned:  B.A. In Bilingual Elementary Education and a B.A. In Spanish

Title:  Senior Academic Advisor- College of Communications

What are your hobbies?  Church activities, Watching HGTV and old Law & Order shows

What was your favorite childhood toy?  My favorite toy was a doll that could crawl, because she had pretty hair that I could brush.

Member Spotlight: Amy Caillavet

Hometown: Beaumont, Texas

College(s) Attended:  Loyola University Chicago

Degree(s) earned: B.A. Communication – Minor: Visual Communications

Title:  Program Coordinator- Cockrell School of Engineering

What are your hobbies? Going to the park with my dog, Link.

Member Spotlight: Yma Revuelta

Hometown:  born in Brownsville, TX raised in Austin, TX

Colleges attended:  freshmen year was at the University of New Mexico (Go Lobos!) but transferred to UT San Antonio (Go Roadrunners!) then graduate school at Texas State University (Go Bobcats!).

Degrees earned:  UTSA for BBA in Marketing, TX State for M.Ed. in Counseling and Guidance with an emphasis in Student Affairs.

Title:  Senior Academic Advisor- Cockrell School of Engineering

Member Spotlight: Katrina Kosted

Hometown:  I grew up in Rusk, Texas. It's a small town, population about 5,000, and its claims to fame are a tourist railroad and a state hospital. It's in East Texas, roughly between Tyler and Nacogdoches.

College(s) Attended:  I attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches for two years, then transferred to UT. I graduated from here.

Degree(s) earned:   Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Education in College and University Student Personnel Administration (aka Higher Ed Admin)

Title:  Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator- School of Architecture

Member Spotlight: Kayla Ford

Hometown: Lorena, Texas     

College(s) Attended: The University of Texas at Austin

Degree(s) earned: BBA in Marketing and M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration (College and University Student Personnel Administration)

Title:  Senior Academic Advisor- McCombs School of Business

What are your hobbies? Reading, crafts, and travelling

Member Spotlight: Kathryn Aslan

Hometown:  Walled Lake, Michigan

College(s) Attended:   Michigan State University and Loyola University Chicago

Degree(s) earned:  German (B.A.), Master of Social Work (MSW)

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor- School of Nursing

What are your hobbies? I play the viola and I love to travel
What was your favorite childhood toy? Either my Hungry Hungry Hippos game or the good old Speak & Spell

Member Spotlight: Jarod Gonzalez

Hometown: El Paso, TX

College(s) Attended:  UT at Austin

Degree(s) earned:  B.A in Psychology & M.Ed. In Higher Education Counseling

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor- College of Liberal Arts

What are your hobbies?  Basketball, philosophy, technology, helping others.

Member Spotlight: Calina Coakwell

James W. Vick Texas Excellence Award for Academic Advising Recipient

Hometown:  Belton, TX

College(s) Attended:  University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (first year)/ UT Austin – B.A. in Psychology received May 1997/ Texas State University – M.A. in Professional Counseling received December 2000

Degree(s) earned:  B.A. Psychology/ M.A. Professional Counseling

What are your hobbies?  I read incessantly (fiction and horror mostly), running and walking when time permits.

What was your favorite childhood toy?  When I was very young I had a plastic riding horse with wheels I named “Oscar.”  Later on, Barbie dolls.  I also loved to play with a multitude of animals.

What is your current position at UT? Briefly explain:  I have been the undergraduate advisor in the Department of Geography & the Environment for 10 years.  I also advise Urban Studies majors in addition to Geography majors.

Have you had any jobs prior to your current job at UT?  If so, what were they?  I interned as a career counselor for a year at Texas State University.  I interned for a semester at Casa Esperanza in Kyle, Texas, doing marriage and family therapy, mostly working with children and their parents.  I taught emotionally disturbed children for a year in Manor, TX.  I worked as an after school counselor for the YMCA.  I worked at the GAP Outlet for a holiday season.  I worked at the Dell Factory Outlet for a few years.  I worked as a bank teller for a few years.  I worked at Mr. Gatti’s for 3 years.  I was a swim instructor and lifeguard for many summers.  I worked at a few day cares growing up too.  Too many “jobs,” but this is my first professional career.

What is the most challenging aspect of your current job?  Balancing advising students with other administrative tasks, and also having too few classes and seats available for students (especially with budget cuts).

Tell us about one of your success stories that happened in your current position (regarding a student, a co-worker, a project, etc.).:  There are so many over the years.  The most recent one was a very poignant one from last semester.  A student came to my office in tears with a difficult non-academic issue.  She said she couldn’t get in to see a counselor in the CMHC for an appointment for a while.  She didn’t feel comfortable calling the hotline either.  I’ll let her tell the story anonymously.  This is an excerpt from her Vick nomination:
“When the health and mental service center was booked and I couldn't get in sooner than 2.5 weeks, I had an urgent problem that I wasn't comfortable calling the hotline about. Calina opened her door and listened to me and gave advice on how I could manage the next few weeks until my appointment. She went above and beyond by checking in with me, and just making sure that I was keeping up with course work. She wanted to make sure that I had options available late in the semester like, withdrawing or getting an incomplete. She also encouraged me as a person and lifted my spirits so that I had enough courage to talk to my professors about my performance. Thanks to her, I will not be failing this semester, which in turn will not delay my graduation date.”

What is your advising philosophy?  I am person-centered and empathic.  For every student contact, whether it be face-to-face, email, or telephone, I attempt to clear my mind and give him or her my full, undistracted, positive attention.  I keep humor as a tool, and empathy as a rule.  I try to understand the comprehensive situation and provide as much relevant information as I can to help students make their own educated decisions.  I provide resources and active referrals as needed.  I try to anticipate any additional developments or help that students may need and provide information and availability for the future.  I constantly communicate with my students:  in my office, through my email listserv, individual email, student groups, and in the hallways.  I keep my door open and encourage open, respectful communication.

Title:  Senior Academic Advisor -- College of Liberal Arts