Meet the Staff

I enjoy helping students understand themselves better and discovering the major/career path that best fits their goal. Being in college can be both an exciting and challenging time for many students. My goal is to help them navigate through their college journey and become a successful graduate.

Explore, explore, explore! Take time to learn about the many majors and co-curricular options available at NIU. This will help you develop a plan for personal, academic and career success. Second, use your resources. In addition to your academic advisor, NIU offers a wide array of resources that will enrich your college experience. Third, get practical experience. An internship, undergraduate research opportunity or even a part-time job can help you understand the skills needed in a particular career field.

I enjoy helping students explore their inner-selves without the influences of trying to appease family members and or friends. I enjoy watching my students come to terms with their own expectations and finding the opportunity to re-invent themselves. College is a great platform to develop, grow, and soul search and I encourage students to be the best they can and that and "Hard work beats talent, when talent don't work hard!" Never to run away from obstacles because those obstacles can be used to build them up for the long haul. Finally, after seeing a once lost student, grow into a young professional as they rise above obstacles and they graduates, that is my complete joy in working with students.

Do a little soul searching to find out what you want out of life. I teach my students to take ownership of what it is they want and not rely on outside influences. Utilize resources like the Academic Advising Center, Cultural Resource Centers, along with Career Services, because they all can help in exploring the many majors NIU has to offer. Lastly, getting involved and asking lots of questions are key in helping students find their talents and the things they enjoy doing.

"You cannot afford to live in potential for the rest of your life; at some point you have to unleash the potential and make your move."

I value greatly any and all opportunities to engage with students while working in partnership as a facilitator of the process of constructing their life narratives, understanding their identity development and empowering them along the way to identify relevant themes and concepts to guide academic, career and life decision making. For me the joy in this work comes from listening to their stories, supporting them as they construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct their narratives, understanding their motivations, decision making process and the unique experiences that shaped them and ultimately brought them here. In serving as a facilitator of this process, my goal has always been to create a space for students where their identities can be affirmed and their experiences are validated while fostering an environment where students can reflect, process and connect who they are now, what they are learning and experiencing and who they want to become.

• Explore the range of possibilities and remain flexible, adaptable and open to change.
• Reflect on your past and present experiences and how they connect with your personal and professional identity development.
• Make meaning and connections of and between your experiences, processing why it all matters in relation to both your personal and professional values, goals and objectives.

"The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated." -James A. Baldwin

I enjoy getting to know students and learning about why they are making the decision to continue their education. Watching students turn their goals and dreams into reality is the most rewarding part of working in higher education. I also enjoy learning from students about all the things they want to do to better themselves, NIU and their career path.

Do not wait! There is a reason you are thinking about it, reach out and find out the next steps. There are so many ways to continue your education and paths you can take. We will work together and find what’s best for you, continuing your education is a great investment in yourself.