I am the Coordinator for Academic Advising in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) at UMBC.  Prior to taking this position, I served as an Academic Advisor for Life Sciences in UMBC’s Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry & Biochemistry for six years. However, my background in science goes back much farther than that…

I was a Biology major at Salisbury University, mainly focused on ecology and botany coursework. I spent the summer between my sophomore and junior years as an intern with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Fisheries at their Region 7 Field Office. Meanwhile, I decided that I also wanted to help new students adjust to life at Salisbury. I was selected for a leadership role in their New Student Experience Wilderness Orientation program - a position that I held from the end of my freshman year through the summer after my senior year - and served as a Peer Instructor for the New Student Experience Classroom Orientation twice.

After earning my B.S. in Biology, I worked as an Environmental Education/Public Use intern with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.

Ultimately, I found that helping students find their way through their first year in college was more rewarding to me than surveying streams or conducting nature programs.  I returned to Salisbury for a Master of Education degree focusing in Post-Secondary Education, continuing to work with the New Student Experience programs and interning with University Admissions. After completing my graduate degree, I worked for several years in Student Activities and Registrar’s Office positions before becoming an academic advisor.

What is my mentoring philosophy? 

Mentees: The responsibility to make decisions that move you in the direction of your goals – and responsibility to accept the consequences of those decisions – now rests firmly on your shoulders. I see myself as a coach, helping you prepare in advance for the moments when decisions must be made, and giving you signals from the sidelines. I can provide guidance, information, or even just a listening ear when you need to “talk things out.”  I can share with you the good and bad decisions that I made as a student, and what difference those choices have made for my life in the long run. I also understand that you may be out of your comfort zone in so many ways during your first year, and that our conversations will not always be about your academic progress.

What do I enjoy most about mentoring freshman students? 

I enjoy the “A-HA!” moment, when students finally feel at home in their chosen field. Sometimes, the process of choosing the field that suits them best takes some trial-and-error, but that makes it all the more rewarding. Having begun my UMBC career as an advisor to freshmen in the Life Sciences, I’ve now been here long enough to watch former advisees walk across the stage at Commencement – some in the major they started in, some not – and I am so proud of them! I look forward to seeing you do the same.

Want to learn more about me? Watch for information on our first Group Mentoring meeting!