Committee Chair Spotlight: FUNdraising Co-Chairs Emily Schroeder and Gina Higby

Emily and Gina have definitely been working hard to put the fun into the FUNdraising Committee.

I asked them a few questions to help the membership get to know them a little bit better.


Name/Role/Department:

Emily Schroeder, Associate Academic Advisor

Discovery Scholars Program

Gina Higby, Academic Advisor

Department of Computer Science, College of Natural Sciences

What committee are you chairing? 

ACA FUNdraising

Why did you want to chair this particular committee?

As new advisors, we wanted an opportunity to become involved in ACA and build relationships with other advisors. Through this committee, we get to work with several great leaders in the organization as well as raise money for awards and scholarships. 

Why do you think this committee is important to ACA and/or the university?

It's important for advisors to be provided with time to get to know one another and share celebrations and difficulties we encounter in our jobs. Also, the money we raise for awards and scholarships enables our members to pursue opportunities they may not have otherwise. 

What is one thing that you would like the membership to do to support your mission this year? 

Participate in the various events we have throughout the year! We have a happy hour about once a month and even if you are only able to come for a short time, we would love to see you! Also, encourage a friend by sending them a Registration Survival Kit!

Is there anything else you want us to know? 

We are grateful to ACA for making me feel welcome and a part of the advising family at UT Austin.

Here is a list of events that the FUNdraising Committee has planned for the rest of the fall semester:

October 28th – 29th: FUNdraising Registration Survival Kits/Goody Bags Distribution

Support ACA scholarships and awards and save your colleagues' sanity during this crazy time of the year by donating to send them Registration Survival Kits or Goody Bags (for those colleagues lucky enough to avoid the registration chaos). Chocked full of the necessities to survive the 2 weeks of insanity! Get your orders in by the end of the day on the 27th!

November 19th: Annual ACA FUNdraising Pot Luck in GDC 2.104 from 11:30 – 1:30pm

Come celebrate the end of Registration and surviving the semester at our annual FUNdraising Pot Luck! Try out those Pinterest recipes on your colleagues before you attempt them for your family! Feel free to bring any items that need heating to GDC 2.104 in the morning (there's a loading zone in front of GDC as well) and we'll keep them for you until the Pot Luck starts at 11:30! (GDC 2.104 is the conference room next to the coffee shop on the ground floor.)

December 17th: FUNdraising Happy Hour at Trudy's from 5 -7pm

The students are gone and we can finally inhabit Trudy's again! Join us for some delicious Mex Marts and chips and queso to celebrate making it another semester!

30 for 30 Member Spotlight: Patty Micks

This is the 30th year of ACA and in honor of our big birthday I'm going to attempt (!) to post 30 spotlights focusing on members who have been around for a few years and can share some of their memories of this great organization.  I'm kicking off the series with a memorable lady: Patty Micks!

If you have a suggestion for someone that you would like to be in the spotlight, email me at sara.schulz@austin.utexas.edu.

Hometown

South Plainfield, NJ

College(s) attended

Rutgers College, Rutgers University – NJ (BA in Art History)

University of Texas at Austin (M.Ed. in Higher Ed Administration)

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

Academic Advisor—Dean's Office, COLA

Student Affairs Administrator—Dean's Office, COFA

Academic Advisor--Math, Physics, Astronomy Advising Center, CNS

Senior Academic Advisor—Connexus, Provost's Office

Academic Advising and Program Coordinator, BDPs, UGS

Senior Program Coordinator, First-Year Experience, UGS

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

I worked at Rutgers University when I lived in NJ and loved it---when we moved to Texas, UT is the first and only place I applied for jobs. My mother-in-law is originally from San Marcos and had relocated from NJ to TX a few years before we moved here in 1999.

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

The relationships you build over the years.  When I think about some of my closest friends and colleagues, I realize that we originally met through ACA/Academic Advising.

Here's where we'd like an anecdote about a favorite ACA memory or a memory that includes another ACA member.

There are so many ACA memories that come to mind it's hard to name just one.  Most of them include NACADA conferences and getting to connect with colleagues in a more social setting—getting to laugh with them over dinner or talk to them for a while on a flight.  Lovelys Powell, JP Regalado, Katrina Kosted, David Spight, Melva Harbin and Lisa Valdez are in most of my ACA memories!  

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

Take charge.  We are constantly telling students to own their education and to make the most of it.  As student affairs professionals, we should be doing the same thing—getting involved, taking on a leadership role, challenging yourself, and creating new energies and programs where none exist.  

What legacy would you like to leave behind at UT? 

Wow.  That's a big question.  (And one of my favorite things to ask of fellow ACAer Lovelys Powell!) I'd like to be remembered as someone who used creativity to solve problems as well as someone who strived to bring disparate groups together for a common purpose.  I hope colleagues will remember me as a strong leader, as well as a good friend.  And, since I mentioned Lovelys earlier, I want my legacy to live on as the founder of the ACA FUNdraising Committee :)  

Anything else you want to tell us?  

Everyone from Jersey is not like Snooki, Tony Soprano, the Real Housewives, or the folks on Jerseylicious. We are way cooler (except for maybe Tony Soprano---he's pretty cool). 

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.  

Sue Holzaepfel's Retirement Party

Member Spotlight: Jessica Hust

Hometown: Pettus, TX

College(s) attended: Texas State University, although when I started there it was Southwest Texas!

Degree(s) earned: Bachelors in Applied Sociology and Masters in Education

Job Title: Assistant Academic Advisor

What are your hobbies? I love to crochet and have a wish list of new crafts to learn. I read ALL the time and if possible, I’d love to travel more.

What is your current job at UT? I’m currently the only academic advisor in the Jackson School of Geosciences. It’s awesome but can sometimes be lonely.


How many years have you worked at UT? One year, two months, and counting!

What is the most challenging aspect of your current job? Staying organized! As an advisor for the Jackson School, I perform many duties in addition to advising including administrative tasks, taking the lead on our Academic Intervention Program, Jackson 5ish (our service organization), newsletters, graduation applications, FIG facilitator, field trips, Q-drops, withdrawals, honors,  etc. I have to keep a detailed to-do list as well as a calendar handy at all times! It all pays off in the end though.

What is your favorite thing about your current job? My students are real go-getters! All are high-achieving and motivated. It’s always exciting to learn about their next project or the research they are involved in.

Tell us about one of your success stories in your current position (regarding a student, co-worker, project, etc.). We admitted a student last year who was very awkward and uncomfortable in social situations. As a result, he had a hard time connecting with others and found himself alone a good deal of his first semester. Mentors approached him as well as his FIG facilitator to determine what was going on and he even went to see a counselor but later said he wasn’t comfortable with them. The rapport that I built with him during that first semester lead him to contact me when he was thinking of hurting himself over the holiday break. Throughout the fall in our appointments and random encounters in the student center, this student felt he could trust me and wanted to confide in me. He got the help he needed and returned to UT the following Spring. He’s made leaps and bounds. He is most definitely a success story.

July 2013 ACA General Meeting

Your ACA Executive Committee enjoying breakfast sponsored by the College of Communication.  Social time!

Nathan Vickers announced this month's Appreciating Campus Administrators honoree, Dr. James Vick.

Carolyn Connerat, Associate Vice Provost, continued the effort to inform ACA about the new student success initiatives for four-year graduation rates.  The initiatives include 360 Connections, college readiness, data driven success, course and degree modernization, and more.  Ms. Connerat also spoke about new programs such as Summer Bridge, the University Leadership Network, PACE, and expansion of the success programs (TIP, Gateway, etc.), and various scholarships aimed at enrichment and retention. 

Brittany Linton, UT Ombudsperson, addressed ACA on the services her office provides our students. She emphasized that she is neutral and independent and reports to the Office of the President.  Her function is not to advocate for students but to guide them through the various processes and policies they might encounter at UT.  She pointed to such examples as grade disputes and honor code violations; she clarifies for students what they face and helps them "cut through the red tape," if it is possible.  Of particular interest is the fact that she will even work with students who have already graduated.

Sarah McKay and Mandy Davidson announced this year's ACA awards recipients.  Jill Lawler (l) of the Department of Economics, received the 2013 Dedication to Students Award. 

Anneke Chy (l) and Megan Rovang (not pictured) received the Taking Initiative and Creating Positive Change Award for their work with at-risk students in the College of Natural Sciences.

Last, but not least, Nathan Vickers received the Service to the Advising Profession Award.  Congratulations to a wonderful group of advisors!

Noe Gonzales from Communication discussed the "UT in LA" program and explained the GPA and program requirements for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in careers in the entertainment industry.  Hollywood!

Also from the College of Communication, Lauren Brown (l) and Xavier Oaks reviewed the new, tighter rules for internal transfers to the college.  A major goal is to ensure that students can still graduate in four years if they transfer into Communication.

Finally, Nathan Vickers swore in the new ACA officers for 2013-2014.  Congratulations and good luck!

June 2013 ACA General Meeting

A scrumptious breakfast for the June 2013 ACA meeting was courtesy of UT Athletics.  Thanks!

The lovely advising crew from Athletics!

ACA members were treated to a tour of the student Academic Center in the stadium.

After we returned from the Academic Center, Laura Weingarten, Outreach Program Coordinator for the Sanger Learning Center, spoke to ACA about the services provided by the Center.  Those services include tutoring, help with course content, study effectiveness, and help with test anxiety. 

Dr. David Laude returned to speak further on the many new initiatives aimed at improving four-year graduation rates.  In particular, he discussed the new University Leadership Network, a program that will identify at-risk students, provide them funding, and help them develop both leadership and academic skills. 

Last, but not least, committees!  Join one!  They're fun, provide a forum for getting to know advisors outside your own college, and they allow you to get more involved in ACA.