Sometimes, Tammy Bender is an academic advisor, helping students choose classes for an upcoming semester. Sometimes, she’s a guide to ̽̽, helping students navigate the university during their earliest college days. Sometimes, she’s just a listening ear, no advice requested or given. On any given day, she might be all three – before lunch.
Bender is one of 12 recipients of this year’s President’s Our Comon Ground Staff Award, which recognizes staff members who have made extraordinary contributions to the university and who exemplify the values expressed in Our Common Ground.
As Director of Student Services for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Bender leads a staff of five. The office provides professional academic advising for all incoming first-year students, and for some second-year students as well. That means more than just choosing classes to satisfy degree requirements.
“We help students with the transition from high school to college,” Bender says. To that end, Bender and her colleagues’ work starts with prospective students, whether they’re exploring studying in the College or have already been admitted. Bender sees these first interactions as an opportunity to start building relationships with students.
“Right from the start, at admitted student visit days, I try to make it clear that we're all about individual support, that we want students to come to us with questions when they're not sure where to go.”
Once students have arrived on campus, Bender and her team are there to help them through those first confusing days. And if they don’t have the solution in their office, among their counterparts across campus, someone can always help.
“We work with all the other support centers on campus, and can refer students to the correct resource,” Bender says, whether that’s tutoring or an appointment with a mental health counselor. But perhaps most importantly, Bender and her team work to ensure that students know they’re not alone.
“Through all those different conversations that you get to have with people, you let them know that you're available, and not just for registering for class.”
Many students transition in their second or third year to faculty advisors who can guide them through the clinicals and other upper-level experiences they’ll have in more advanced coursework.
But “we don’t disappear,” Bender says. “We provide student support services for all four years, whether a student has questions about a policy or they're going through a situation where they need some extra help.”
And when things don’t go according to the original plan, Bender’s there for that, too. “There are students who know they want to major in nursing from day one, and it never changes,” she says. “But occasionally, a student will appear in my office, saying, ‘I'm actually not sure I want to major in nursing after all.’” Bender stands ready to help these students find their way.
And Bender, as Director, also seeks ways to support her colleagues, relying on her own experiences through her time here. “I started at ̽̽ in this office and became an academic advisor myself,” Bender says. “I've actually worked every position in this office before becoming director, which has been very helpful. Pretty much anything that anybody's going through, I can understand and hopefully support them through it.”
Bender, who also oversees graduate admissions for the nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy programs, points to her own background in psychology and career advising as helpful for her work today.
“I think that all of those skills along the way helped to prepare me for my current role,” she says, “helping students get through difficult times. I love working with students,” Bender says. “I get a lot of meaning from being able to help them.”
Bender got to see her efforts come full circle last year when she had the opportunity to read names at the College’s commencement. “It was a really special experience because I had so many advisees in that group,” Bender recalls. “I was thinking, as they crossed the stage, ‘I remember our June orientation appointment, when you were just registering for first-semester classes.’” Bender adds that she may have taken the duty “too seriously,” requesting that each student record themselves saying their names to ensure that she pronounced each one correctly, then practicing in advance.
“I just wanted it to be such a great experience for them,” Bender says. “And it was a wonderful day.”
Now, she’s looking forward to the next orientation, and to helping the next incoming class. Bender particularly enjoys demystifying the world of higher education for students who might otherwise struggle to find the keys to understanding its norms and expectations.
“Going to college can feel very overwhelming and confusing; it's like there's this hidden language that students are expected to know,” Bender says. But she finds satisfaction in helping students make sense of it all – especially as a former first-generation college student who did not always have this kind of help herself. “I went in not really knowing that lingo and not understanding policies,” she says.
“Now, I’m trying to be that person for students that I really wish I’d had. That, I think, is really fulfilling.”