NACADA Region 5 Conference, April 22-24, 2025, Chicago, IL
Laughs, Lessons and Lanyards: Scenes from a Conference
Just last week, many IUB advisors attended the NACADA Region 5 conference in Chicago, Illinois. We’re proud to share that three of our colleagues were recognized for their outstanding contributions to advising. Will Smith received the Region 5 Excellence in Advising - Advising Administrator award, while Laurie Staring was honored with the Region 5 Excellence in Advising – New Advisor award. Niki Blackwell was awarded “Best of Region 5” for her presentation, “A Rainbow of Possibilities: Advising Students on the Autism Spectrum.” Congratulations to you all and thank you for representing IUB with such distinction.
And speaking of awards… our HPPLA advisors Jared Anderson, Diana Dingman, David Owen (retired), Anna Zimmermann, and Rachel Tolen attended the Central Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (CAAHP) Conference in Indianapolis on April 2-5. David Owen was recognized for past leadership contributions and recent retirement.
We invited colleagues across campus who attended the NACADA Region 5 conference to share their reflections – some insightful, some lighthearted and a few just plain hilarious. Here’s what they had to say.
- “Strategies for Culturally Relevant Advising for Asian & Asian American Students” was perhaps the most surprisingly relevant session I attended, since it not only addressed changing undergraduate demographics, but also tackled issues of culturally based academic expectations that I strongly identified with in my own undergraduate experience. This included negotiating family pressures to major in STEM or commerce, as opposed to following one’s passion, even if the endpoint was earning a culturally coveted “doctor” moniker.
- Three of my colleagues and I presented at the NACADA Region 5 conference in Chicago last week. I'm happy to say we had a great experience during our presentations. Our topic was "Six Golden Nuggets of Advising." The session was full of new advisors who were very receptive to our presentation and there was interesting dialogue at its conclusion. I found the sessions on professional development and leadership to be the most informative and applicable, giving ideas on how to move forward in my career. I am thankful to my supervisor, Mr. Sam Young for providing the funds for us to go and to NACADA for the opportunity to represent Indiana University.
- For my first conference I had a blast! I loved the food, the comradery, and the learning opportunities. My favorite moment though, was during the fabulous presentation by the team from IU Groups Scholars advising, when a new advisor from another school told them during the Q&A that it was such a helpful presentation for her. Those personal moments of connection and appreciation are what make conferences great.
- I came away from the NACADA Region V conference with some great ideas on how to incorporate Padlet into my advising practice. Equally important, experiencing the cuisine on offer in both Chinatown and the Polish neighborhoods of the city made for a couple of fantastic evenings!
- I attended a session on Motivational Interviewing, which is a counseling technique that grew out of addiction treatment. It focuses on helping people deal with change, which dovetails nicely with coaching first year students. People are resistant to change, so the goal of this technique is to help students elicit "change talk," whereby they can begin addressing changing their behaviors (sleeping in, not going to class, etc.) without resistance or ambivalence. It does so by not insisting that the goal is changed behavior but talking about change and what that might do for them.
- Chicago was wonderful! I was grateful to reconnect with those within our region and to learn more about advising. I was also very grateful to share what I am passionate about with my colleagues.
- I so very much enjoyed seeing IUB colleagues recognized for their incredible work, connecting with colleagues across our state (including the keynote speakers from this year's IUBAAC Fall Meeting and Spring Conference!), and taking a blast of a dinner trip for Polish food. Still dreaming of those blueberry pierogies...
- Very glad I attended the NACADA Region 5 conference in Chicago - there were a number of sessions that I found interesting and useful for future. However, let me start by saying, if at all possible do not take the Flix bus from Bloomington to Chicago. I did and fortunately have lived to regret it. Check the Yelp reviews - I should have. Could write a lot on topic of that round trip, think it would fall under the genre of "bus horror." But back to the conference.
- As part of my role as advisor in O'Neill School, I work with more directly with Environmental Science students and help coordinate our O'Neill Exchange programs abroad. I focused on those areas at conference. Two sessions, "From a me to we world: advising practices to build global citizens" and "If you build it, they will go: study abroad for advisors" were two sessions I benefited from. The latter was a presentation from a group of advisors at University of Cincinnati who sought and obtained funding to travel to and learn about the education systems in countries such as India or South Korea where their school has overseas study programs and from where a sizable number of international students come from to attend UC. They reported that the experiences really helped them better connect with and advise their international students and better understand the issues these students face when studying in the US. But also helped them better advise domestic students who may study in those countries for a semester.
As for food, so much in Chicago. The scale of the city is staggering if you haven't been out of Bloomington for a while. I love seafood so went to McCormick's and Schmicks and got some lobster bisque. - This was my first NACADA conference, and I appreciated the scope and diversity of presentation topics. One of my favorite presentations shared orientation resources for student who have not yet selected a major. Since I advise Exploratory students here at AMES, it was helpful to see how other advising departments support the process of selecting a major. Being in Chicago was a huge bonus. My colleagues and I demonstrated top-notch teambuilding skills as we selected the best restaurant in all of Chinatown, and then the very best dishes on the menu, too.
Annual Conference on First Year Experience 2025, New Orleans, LA
The First Year: Advising the In Between
Jen Shaw, Advising and Major Exploration Academic Advisor
Jen Shaw presented a paper on the liminal experience of first year students. She shared that advising literature approaches students from a psychological perspective, with the emphasis on the individual. She proposed that we can gain insight into first year student experiences by adopting an anthropological perspective, viewing students as members of a cultural group undergoing a rite of passage as they transition from high school to college. She continues by explaining that in rites of passage, novices are in a liminal state: no longer occupying their earlier status, but not yet having achieved the next stage. Viewing first year students as liminal beings allows us to assist them in moving from one stage to the next as engaged participants.
NACADA 2024, Pittsburgh, PA
A Rainbow of Possibilities: Advising Students on the Autism Spectrum;
Niki Blackwell, School of Public Health Academic Advisor
A Rainbow of Possibilities: Advising Students on the Autism Spectrum has been a passion project of mine this year, having a son on the spectrum, as well as many of my students disclosing their Autism to me. I was honored to present at the NACADA Annual 2024 Conference in Pittsburgh, PA and was thrilled by the support of my colleagues, as well as the response from those in attendance for the session. Much of the public perception of Autism is narrow-minded and erroneous and I wanted to dispel those misconceptions by giving the #ActuallyAutistic perspective through my research of Autistic authors. I wanted advisors to understand what Autism is and isn't and learn how best to work with their students, advocating for their unique needs. Autism is not an illness or something to be cured; it is a different way of being human that needs to be honored. [See the PowerPoint presentation]
Experiential Advising: Re-Evaluating Your Advising Skillset and Building Cognitive Empathy as an Advisor
Wojciech Beltkiewicz, Rosie Piga Pizzo and Sharon Hay, AMES academic advisors; Di Dingman, Health Professions and Prelaw Advising
Four academic advisors at a large public university enrolled in undergraduate courses to 'experience what undergraduate advisees are experiencing.' The result was a theoretical model of 'Experiential Advising,' which borrowed from David Kolb's theory of experiential learning, Judith Butler's theory of gender identity, and Jennifer Bloom's theory of appreciative advising, to re-evaluate advisor identities to learn again to be a student to become a more effective advisor.
This panel presentation gave four IUB advisors the opportunity to share their experiences taking a class with traditional undergraduates on the IU Bloomington campus and to explore the philosophical underpinnings of the impact on their advising practice. [See the PowerPoint presentation]
Flowing Together: Navigating the Confluence of Student, Faculty, and Advisor Informal Connections Elaine Barr and Doug DaVee, IU School of Nursing
IU Bloomington Nursing Advisors presented on a program called 'Conversations on the Go' that united students, faculty, and advisors. Stemming from students' desire for deeper connections with faculty and declining drop-in advising attendance, we launched weekly informal encounters covering topics like cultural exchange and cooking on a budget. These interactions fostered community and enriched experiences, showcasing collaboration's power. Attendees learned about our initiative's development and outcomes, including assessment results. The session concluded with small group brainstorming on adapting similar opportunities for participants in their own advising offices. [See the Powerpoint presentation].