Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski's Reflection on the 2013 NACADA International Conference- Maastricht, The Netherlands

June included a new experience for me - participating in an international conference on academic advising.  This conference gathered over 240 academic advising professionals and faculty from around the globe to talk about strategies, techniques, and research that impact students and our institutions.  My experience included presenting on advising assessment and facilitating a workshop on building a mission statement as well as attending a number of informative sessions. Another new experience was presenting in a chapel with beautiful stained glass windows (see below).  Let me share a few thoughts and photos from this experience.

Becki Broadbent's Reflection on UAOA 2013 Conference

Susan Madsen (Keynote #1)– She discussed her research findings regarding women in Utah and completion of higher education. I found her research findings interesting.  One in particular that caught my attention was that if a young woman indicated she had no leadership roles from grades 9-12 then likelihood of graduating from college was very low.  Also, if she worked while in high school it also lowered the likelihood of graduating from college.  A few things weren’t a surprise like the younger a girl was when college discussions began happening, the more likely she would go.  Also, the earlier a girl started saving money as a child for college, the more likely she attended.  There was a distinction made between attendance and finishing college in her research.  Many of the female students said they planned to attend college, but less said they actually planned to finish. We need to start having the discussions with young ladies about not only attending but completing a college education.  She talked about transformational moments (that could be very small), but could change a student’s trajectory.

Excerpts from Terese Pratt's Reflection on the NACADA Region X Conference

May 2013 – Tucson Arizona

The theme for this year’s NACADA Region X conference was “Advising Under the Stars”.   This theme reflects that fact that the location of the conference, Tucson, is considered to be the astronomy capital of the U.S.  This title also seems appropriate to me when considering the conference presentations that I attended.  In each case presenters took a broad and expansive view of the subjects they covered and did an excellent job tying in their specific topic to the underlying philosophy and goals of advising.

2013 Advisor Recognition Reception and Social Photos

The 2013 Advisor Recognition Reception and Social happened on Tuesday May 7th at the Crimson View in the Union building.  Over 70 advisors attended to eat food, mingle, and wait for the announcement of the 2013 UAAC Academic Advising Awards.

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 There was great food options catered by Chartwells.

Bobbi Davis and Jen Wozab grab some snacks during the social portion of the event.

Recent Award Recipients

2013 UAAC New Advisor Award Recipient
Jen Wozab

2013 UAAC Wise Advisor Award Recipient

Bobbi Davis

Recent Award Recipients

2013 Perlman Award Recipient

Terese Pratt

2012 UAAC Award 

Betsy Cook

Heather Crum's experience from the National NACADA Conference 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee

Empowering Student Career Stories in Times of Change and Challenge: Dan Wilcox, Kansas State University

*One of my favorite sessions I attended at the conference was on career counseling.  I found it to be very enlightening.  One reason for this is that my MBTI type is ISFJ.  Attending this session helped me to get a taste of the Intuitive and Perceiving personality types.  I felt energized after attending this session because I feel that the presenter gave important tips for advisors to consider when engaging in major exploration with a student.