Abby received the Daniel R. Sharpless Outstanding Service in Academic Advising Award this year (2025) from the SPH-B Health & Wellness Design department.
Tell us a little about your background?
Professionally, I’ve worked in higher education for 25 years doing all sorts of things - recruiting, retaining, and engaging students from many walks of life.
What drew you to advising?
Throughout every job that I’ve had, my favorite days were when I could listen to and focus on one student at a time. This was always when I could learn the most about what impacts students and their success at IU. This drew me to advising - getting to listen and focus on making things better for students all day long.
What drew you to working with the SPH-B student population?
The SPH-B Majors draw in students who generally are interested in health and wellness, and like to focus on making lives better after they leave IU. They are interested in helping people live better or providing ways for people to enjoy life more.
As a veteran advisor, do you have any insights or inspirations from your advising experience that you would like to share with the IUBAAC members?
Retention is always at the forefront of how I work. We should never stop listening and learning about the opportunities for our students. Recognize that students' mental health issues evolve all the time. Use our interpersonal skills to introduce our students to campus in ways that can benefit them and let them know that they belong. The more experience we have, the better we can advise. Our worth grows with the more we know. The Advising Community at IU is strong, so make sure to tap into your advising colleagues across campus when we have questions.
What is a favorite hobby or something about you to help us get to know a little more about you?
I sit on the board of directors for Dylan’s Super Friends, an organization that grants wishes to individuals with autism. We work hard to raise money for things that benefit our friends with autism that insurance doesn't cover: swimming lessons, security systems for homes, trampolines are just a few of the wishes we’ve granted.
I also teach classes at Vibe Yoga Studio, and have two daughters who go to IU. One will graduate in August - yay! I also love my friends, my family, and pets (mine and everyone else’s :))