CEAT Student Services Advisors win Best of State

Friday, February 22, 2019

Kristal Soderstrom Junkens and Sarah Ayres, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Student Services Advisors, won the Best of State designation for their presentations during the Oklahoma Academic Advising Association (OACADA) Fall Conference in October 2018. This honor allows the two to present at the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Region Seven Conference in San Antonio, Texas in March 2019. 

“These two advising professionals have distinguished themselves by winning Best of State,” said Lance Millis, director of CEAT Student Academic Services. “We’re thrilled they will represent OSU and CEAT at the Regional Conference in San Antonio. The students of CEAT truly benefit from their knowledge and expertise, and the college’s academic advising overall benefits because of them.” 

The OACADA Fall Conference was hosted at Oklahoma State University in the school of architecture. Advisors from across the state came together to learn from each other during breakout sessions, and a keynote address about the importance of personal mental health for advisors was presented. Region seven of NACADA consists of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

 Junkens and Ayres presentation was entitled “Advising to climb over the stumbling blocks”. In the presentation, an intrusive approach for the stumbling student was created as a guide for those who work with students encountering stumbling blocks or challenges as they work through their college career. 

In order to prepare for the regional conference, Junkens and Ayres will be giving their presentation on March 1 at 3:30 p.m. in Engineering North 107. All are welcome to attend. 

“Advisors spend much of our time working with students to overcome and redirect during a troubling semester,” the presentation abstract states. “Between failure within courses, outside of class distractions, familial demands and mental health issues, there are many things that can cause a student to stumble. In a world where retention is the name of the game, how can advisors help students who have stumbled to regain their footing? So often, students feel that a stumbling block has become a boulder that prevents their success. We will present an intrusive advising strategy to help advisors know how to help students avoid stumbling blocks, overcome struggles when they happen, and climb over the boulder to a successful educational career.”
 

Story by: Kylie Moulton