How long have you been at SMCM?
9 months
What path led you to St. Mary’s?
Once I learned what an academic adviser was in undergraduate, I knew I wanted to be one, amongst a host of other things. While serving as an adjunct history professor at Essex County College in Newark, NJ, I was given the opportunity to become an academic adviser for the first time and fell in love with it completely.
What do you do by day?
I think, one of the coolest things in the world. I get to have conversations with students in hopes of finding out what they struggle with academically and sometimes personally, then determine what is the best course of action to take in order to alleviate or reduce the struggle, if possible, and finally assess their progress. At times I feel like a mechanic in a NASCAR pit, except I tighten up a student’s habits, mindset, and priorities.
What do you do with your evenings/weekends?
Evenings are simple: guitar, Redbox (soon NetFlix) then reading – usually in that order, too. I’ve been playing the guitar since high school; I get down with some classic rock and the blues. Movies are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I problem-solve all day, so I definitely enjoy, for lack of a better word, “stupid-funny” movies from time to time (Coming to America or Stepbrothers), in addition to a good drama, book adaptation, or biographical film. I have managed to amass quite the reading list for myself as a result of talking to students and my fellow colleagues. Weekends are simple too: Driving – I spend most of my weekends visiting my boo in Philly or my family in NJ, VA, or NC.
What is your favorite off-campus lunch spot?
I’m a fat kid so I have many favorites, but all depend on my budget that day: (1) Popeye’s (Chicken tenders w/ ranch dipping sauce, popcorn shrimp, and iced tea); (2) St. James Deli (if I’m kind of tight, just a pepperoni slice, if I can splurge, a Ciabatta Dan w/ House sauce).
What would colleagues be surprised to find out about you?
I still get nervous before speaking in public – my palms sweat inappropriately…which is why I can’t use note cards.
What is the most interesting/surprising job you’ve ever had?
Interesting – I worked as a marketing specialist for the Boys & Girls Club of Nash/Edgecombe Counties in North Carolina. I developed all of their publications and wrote their newspaper articles. Surprising – I was a dishwasher in undergraduate. It was the only non-work-study job left that year so…I busted some suds!
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