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Undergraduate Advising at The Ohio State University

Advising is critical to academic success at Ohio State. Often serving as the main point of contact between students and the university, advisors help create academic plans that meet your educational and career goals. We're here to guide you through the university while connecting you to appropriate resources that help keep you on track along the way.

Advising News

Andrea Severson was honored by students

Andrea Severson was awarded the College of Social Work's 2023 Oustanding BSSW Lecturer Teaching Award. This award is voted on by Bachelor of Science in Social Work students. One student wrote, "Andrea is a fantastic professor and I would take more classes with her if she had them available. I have rarely had a professor as kind and thoughtful as she is. It's clear she's an amazing social worker and I hope I will be able to impact my future clients the way that she does."

Jessica Baer-Graves is a winner!

This April Jessica Baer-Graves in the Knowlton School of Architecture, was awarded a 2023 Distinguished Staff Award! This award honors staff members for their outstanding achievements, service, leadership and dedication to Ohio State.

Read Jessica's accomplishments
Laura Whitaker has received the ASC Outstanding Staff Award

The Arts and Sciences Staff Advisory Council (SAC) recognized Laura Whitaker for demonstrating sustained excellence in overall job performance and have improved or enhanced work life and services of Psychololgy faculty, staff, and students.

Learn about ASC awards
Andrea Evans is a recipient of the 2023 Outstanding First Year Advocate Award

This award recognizes the contributions of exceptional Ohio State faculty and staff to first year student success. Andrea works to foster connections with and among first year students through orientation and implement policies that make first year students' success possible.

Chris Trapp is a recipient of the 2023 Outstanding First Year Advocate Award

This award honors individuals who have demonstrated passion and effort beyond their typical job responsibilities for helping students make the most of their first year. Chris works to foster connections with and among first year students through orientation, serves as a resource for new students, and advocates for practices and policies that make first year students' success possible.

Barry Tolchin receives a Distinguished Staff Award

With a consistent willingness to foster a sense of belonging, Barry has implemented programs that have improved student retention rates and reduced student stress. He has tremendously grown the department's Industry Mentorship Program, as well as worked to create a more holistic major admission process to significantly improve the ability to admit underrepresented students.

2022 Award Winner
Kythia Droesch wins Distinguished Staff Award 2022

As director of [Student Services], Kynthia has remained a primary contributor to the college's successful efforts to recruit, matriculate, and graduate racially, ethnically, and otherwise diverse students, wrote Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Academic Administration Michael Bisesi, applauding Droesch's efforts to form a Student Advisory Committee and Public Health Student Ambassador Program.

2022 Award Winners
Marykatherine Ramsey earns the Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring & Leadership Award

The Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring & Leadership Award recognizes excellence in honors advising, honors instruction, honors committee work, and other honors initiatives and responsibilities which have enhanced the quality of education available to honors students in the liberal arts.

English Department staff awards page
Liz McGinnis receives NACADA Region 5 Excellence in Advising Award

Liz McGinnis, academic advisor in the Department of Psychology, received the NACADA Region 5 Excellence in Advising Award for 2022 which recognizes individuals who demonstrate qualities and practices that make significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising and excel in NACADA's core values and advising competencies.

Congratulations to Katie Watkins!

Katie, Program Director of Undergraduate Studies for the College of Pharmacy, was recognized as a Distinguised Staff Award. Katie is a visionary leader and trusted voice in academic affairs who consistently focuses on the best interests of students.

Distinguished Staff Award Winners 2021
Congratulations Brooke O'Leary

Brooke is the 2021 NACADA Region 5 Excellence in Advising - Advisor Primary Role! This award recognizes individuals whose primary role at the institution is the direct delivery of advising services to students.

Region 5 Award winners
Congratulations Joanna Spanos!

Joanna was recognized as an Outstanding Advising - Primary Role award winner by the National Academic Advising Association for 2020.

This award recognizes effective advising qualities and practices that distinguish the recipient as an outstanding academic advisor including, but not necessarily limited to, strong interpersonal skills, evidence of student success, caring attitude, monitoring of student progress, mastery of institutional policies, ability to engage in developmental advising, participation in and support of advisor development programs, perception by colleagues and institutional recognition.

NACADA Global Award Winners
Chaka Wilson - Ohio Transfer Council's award winner

Congratulations to CSCC Advising Specialist Chaka Wilson who recently won the Ohio Transfer Council's 2020 Tom Vandermeulen Award. The award recognizes an individual whose contributions have led to the enhancement of relations among people of diverse cultures, ethnic groups, first generation college students or students with special needs.

Renee Johnston, Advisor in SENR, wins 2020 Distinguished Staff Award!

Renee Johnston is dedicated to creating positive student experiences and has been lauded as critical in student success. Through her commitment to using data to inform decisions and actions, Renee created express services for advising appointments which enabled students to have immediate advising needs met. Renee also uses her ability to generate trust with faculty and students to understand their challenges and make improvements, which has led to the creation of curriculum roadmaps that improved retention and 4-year graduation rates by helping students better plan and sequence their courses.

2020 Award Winners
Steven Mousetes, Advisor in Biomedical Science, wins 2020 Distinguished Staff Award!

As a highly respected, productive and selfless mentor, teacher and advocate for Ohio State, Steven Mousetes serves as a model academic advisor and educator. Steven is an expert in advising and counseling students in the biomedical science major as well as other students seeking his guidance. In addition to academic advising, he juggles the many facets (e.g., recruitment, orientation, fiscal, etc.) of his position with precision. He has cultivated new programs and unique curricula that increase student success. With an unparalleled commitment to students and the university, Steven's willingness to help makes him integral in many students' decisions to become a Buckeye and flourish throughout their undergraduate careers.

2020 Award Winners
Jennie Babcock, Advising Administrator for Social Work, wins 2020 Distinguished Staff Award!

Beyond being a trusted, supportive partner for students, Jennie Babcock is a champion for academic success. Jennie played an integral role in the oversight, launch and success of expanding the social work program at four regional campuses, which led to significant increases in students graduating with social work degrees. She also fosters relationships with two-year universities to reduce barriers and create a seamless process for transfer students. In addition to writing the college's first online course and supervising online course development, Jennie led the development of the Child Welfare and Substance Misuse and Addiction minor degree programs.

2020 Award Winners
Sarah Howard is an Emerging Leader

The NACADA Emerging Leaders program encourages members from diverse groups to become involved in leadership opportunities within the organization. The program is designed to outfit participants with the skills and tools necessary to pursue elected and appointed leadership positions, to increase the number of leaders from diverse groups and to encourage and assist members of underrepresented populations to attend State, Regional, or Annual Conferences. Mentors will work closely with Leaders to develop a plan for continued involvement and growth in the association.

Sarah has been selected as a mentor for the incoming class class of 2020!

UCSC Program of the Year Award is Kelsey Palazeti (College of Nursing)

The University Career Services Committee Program of the Year Award recognizes events, initiatives, campaigns, or other types of programs coordinated, planned, and/or implemented by UCSC members.

The winner of the UCSC Program of the Year Award is Kelsey Palazeti, for her creation and implementation of a new suite of career services for the College of Nursing.

When Kelsey began her role, there were no official career services through Student Affairs available to students outside of a single week of events each spring. Since that time, Kelsey has worked with the Director for Student Affairs to raise awareness of this need and create formalized career services for students at the College [of Nursing]. She has worked to craft these services based upon hours of research, collaboration with faculty and staff, and expert insight from Nurse Managers at area hospitals. Due to her efforts, we are able to offer one-one-one resume reviews, cover letter reviews, mock interviews, and online interview preparation to our undergraduate on campus studentsAs with any brand new program, the behind the scenes research and logistical planning to make these services available is a testament to Kelsey's perseverance and dedication to providing these services to students.

Andrea Evans (Fisher College of Business) ACADOAS 2020 Outstanding Advisor Administrator!

Andrea Evans has been an academic advisor in the Fisher College of Business since 2009, where she became Assistant Director of Orientation in 2013 and then Associate Director of Orientation in 2017. She also served as the Academic Advising representative for the University for the Pre-Departure Orientations in China from 2015 to 2018. Andrea currently supervises five academic advisors in Fisher.

One of the advisors she supervises said, [Andrea] is an advocate for her supervisees and students as well as a supportive colleague to her peers. She never hesitates to drop what she's doing and help in whatever way she can, and it is this attitude that allows her programs, initiatives, and students to flourish.Andrea is also known for her sincere interest in her students and her determination to help them be successful. One of her 350 advisees said, In addition to academic guidance, she created a safe space for me to share my interest, involvements and areas of passion, to help build and enhance my experiences in and out of the classroom.

Brooke O'Leary (Data Analytics) ACADAOS 2020 Outstanding Advisor!

Brooke O'Leary advised students in the Fisher College of Business for 3 years, then in the Department of Geography for 3.5 years, and then became the Data Analytics advisor in March 2017, where she now advises over 350 students.

An advisee noted, Rather than intimidating prospective students, Brooke is candid with the rigor of the major, letting students know the challenges that lie ahead but reassuring that students can succeed. I felt I could accurately anticipate the coursework of each semester because of Brooke, and overall, she helped organize my academic experience..., enabling me to have the best Ohio State experience I could.

Max Gulick (Newark Advising)ACADAOS 2020 Outstanding Advisor!

Over the past 3 years, Max Gulick has been the go-to person in the Newark Advising Office when it comes to technology, for both students and staff.

A student nominator writes, Max was incredibly hard working, kind, and motivating. I cannot thank him enough for the work he put just for me and I can't imagine how hard he must work to do that for all his advisees. To say that Max is an outstanding advisor is an understatement.

Jared Stearns is the STAR Award recipient for spring semester 2020!

Jared's swift action and guidance allowed the Ohio State Newark advising office to move both the campus change session and new student orientation to an online format. One of his three nominators wrote, Jared's herculean efforts over the past month have not only paved the way for campus change students to be successful in Columbus during a time of turmoil, but also created a high-quality, informative, online orientation of which we can all be proud. Even in a tumultuous time with COVID19 wreaking havoc on our lives, it is thanks to Jared that our new 2020 Buckeyes will have the amazing "Welcome to Ohio State!" experience that every Buckeye deserves.

Jared's STAR award is an all-COTC (4 campuses!) and OSU-Newark award. He won out of 12 nominees. Please join us in congratulating Jared.

Congratulations Alisa Paulsen!

Alisa was awarded the 2019 National Academic Advising Association's Outstanding Administrator Award!

This award recognizes effective practices that distinguish the recipient as an outstanding advising administrator, including, but not limited to administering an academic advising program that supports NACADA's core values; evidence that the program reflects the standards of good practice; participation in initiatives related to the efficacy of academic advising; promotion of advising grounded in sound theory, research, and educational practice; and evidence of departmental development, including successful initiatives or enhancements.

NACADA 2019 Global Award Winners
Congratulations Nicole Vangas!

Nicole was recognized as a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Advising - Primary Role recipient by the National Academic Advising Association for 2019.

This award recognizes effective advising qualities and practices that distinguish the recipient as an outstanding academic advisor including, but not necessarily limited to, strong interpersonal skills, evidence of student success, caring attitude, monitoring of student progress, mastery of institutional policies, ability to engage in developmental advising, participation in and support of advisor development programs, perception by colleagues and institutional recognition.

NACADA 2019 Global Award Winners
Congratulations Christine Nguyen!

Christine was recognized as a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding New Advisor - Primary Role recipient by the National Academic Advising Association for 2019.

This award recognizes effective advising qualities and practices that distinguish the recipient as an outstanding academic advisor including, but not necessarily limited to, strong interpersonal skills, evidence of student success, caring attitude, monitoring of student progress, mastery of institutional policies, ability to engage in developmental advising, participation in and support of advisor development programs, perception by colleagues and institutional recognition.

NACADA 2019 Global Award Winners
Max Gulick was Featured

Newark campus Advisor Max Gulick's story was included in the Chief Information Officer's March 2019 Digital Digest and on the Digital Flagship Website!

Max uses the Discover App course planner to help his students create academic journeys that adapt to their goals and needs. Read the full article by clicking below.

Advisor Creates Flexible Degree Plans With Discover App
Peggy Strow is a 2019 Distinguished Staff Award recipient!

Peggy Strow, Advisor for the Center for Life Sciences Education, establishes personal connections to help students succeed has helped improve retention and time to graduation. Her collaboration also supported regional campuses in implementing the biology major.

2019 Distinguished Staff Award Recipients
Marykatherine Ramsey receives the ASC Outstanding Staff Award - 2018

This annual award is given by the College of Arts and Sciences to recognize staff members who have demonstrated, sustained excellence in job performance and dedication to improving work life and services for faculty, staff, students and/or the university.

English Department awards page
Congratulations to Ben Carignan! 2018 Distinguished Staff Award winner!

Benjamin Carignan, Academic Advisor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, works closely to support student veterans and students transitioning to Columbus campus.

Ohio State Advisors are the best in the world!

Amy Treboni's hard work has been recognized by the National Academc Advising Association. She has earned the 2018 NACADA Outstanding Advising Administrator Award! We are so appreciative of all of Amy's hard work!

Sarah Howard has received NACADA's Cerficate of Merit as an Outstanding Advisor - Primary Advising Role! Congratulations Sarah!

Katie Bush-Glenn received a Certificate of Merit for an Outstanding Advising Program! Her work on the ACADOS Professional Development Program was recognized by NACADA.

NACADA Global Award recipients - 2018