INDIANAPOLIS—The Purdue School of Science at IUPUI congratulates Jennifer Nelson, an undergraduate academic advisor and senior lecturer for the Department of Earth Sciences, who received the ‘Outstanding Advising Award’ from NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. This award honors individuals and institutions making a significant impact on academic advising.
Nelson says she was surprised to receive this award but is honored.
“NACADA is an organization comprised of amazing advisors worldwide, and I doubted my experiences as a faculty advisor in a small department would be recognized at the national level,'' said Nelson. “ I am still not sure I deserve this award! Reading the letters of support from my students, fellow staff, and faculty in our department made me aware that I do make a difference in academic advising, and that is such a good feeling!”
Nelson, a School of Science alumna, initially was not part of academic advising when she began her career here at the school but she started seeing a pattern.
“Previous advisors would send students my way to talk about internships, careers, and experiences to further their academic goals specific to each student’s interests. I started thinking, ‘Why couldn’t I do this? What if I was the academic advisor for our students?’ explained Nelson. “I approached my department chair when we were thinking about hiring a new advisor and proposed a faculty advising position as a complement to my teaching load. And here I am!”
Here are a couple of sentiments from earth sciences students who participated in nominating Nelson for this award.
She makes me feel like I matter, and my individual needs are always prioritized even though she has so many other students on her plate at once.
Honestly, I could write a report on why Jenny is the best advisor in the School of Science and best overall advisor at IUPUI. She deserves multiple awards. Everybody loves Jenny.
Nelson has this advice for all IUPUI students when it comes to succeeding in their college careers.
“The one thing I tell all students is to use all the resources available to you at IUPUI to succeed – if you have a question or concern, there is likely an office or person on campus is available to help. The other piece of advice is to take advantage of experiences to supplement and support your learning. Classroom learning and textbook reading are essential, but you also need real-world connections and experiences to bring that knowledge to life!”