Lesson 9- Informational Interview

HI ED 490
Jammie Clark

Early on in the semester when we were told about this assignment, I knew
immediately who I wanted to interview. I credit my success early on in college to the
advisor that I was assigned to in the Academic Resource Center (ARC) at Thiel
College. For my first semester we met every other week to discuss my classes,
grades, goals, as well as how I was adapting to college life and being away from
home for the first time. I built a great relationship with my advisor and I credit her
for keeping me enrolled from fall to spring semester of my freshman year. She
became my mom away from home. I often times think that if I had not been
required to meet with her on a regular basis that I may have fallen through the
cracks and transferred after one semester.
I was fascinated by this dual role that the ARC advisors played because I felt
as though I was meeting with someone to help guide me academically and yet I also
felt as though my advisor served in the role as a personal counselor. While I could
not make the connection to interview with my original advisor, I was able to do my
informational interview on the other advisor from the ARC at Thiel, Amy PetrucciEffinite, who just so happens to now work as the Academic Advising Manager in the
Division of Undergraduate Studies office at Penn State Shenango. I actually served
as a Peer Mentor for Amy when I was an upperclassman at Thiel so I also built a nice
relationship with her and was excited to have the opportunity to meet with her for
this interview.
I began by asking Amy to give me an overview of her educational background
and how she got her start higher education. She started taking college classes at
Penn State Shenango but eventually completed her bachelors degree from Slippery
Rock University in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. After she completed
her degree she worked in the social service field for a couple of years but said she
got burned out very quickly so she decided she wanted to go back to school and
further her education. She was accepted in to the Masters in Special Education at
Slippery Rock and applied for a graduate assistantship, which she was awarded. She
said she really enjoyed her experience working at Slippery Rock that year so when

she finished her degree she was seeking employment at a college or university. Her
first job in higher education was at Thiel College in the Academic Resource Center.
Her position was grant funded by Act 101 which is a state-funded program that
provides eligible schools money to help increase the success rate of academically
and financially disadvantaged students. Her responsibilities included advising
students who were considered at-risk or who were accepted to the college under
a conditional term. During the second semester the ARC advisors would also be
assigned to students who had done poorly during their first semester. She also
helped to instruct the First Year Experience courses for the freshman class. Although
the ARC was funded by Act 101, all Thiel College students were still able to utilize
the services and resources. I also asked her about her counseling background to
find out if she had taken any special classes or received any training. She said she
has no true counseling background and only took a few courses at Slippery Rock
that dealt with counseling. She said this was an area that seemed to come naturally
to her.
She feels that her personal experience with her advisor, when she first began
taking classes at Penn State Shenango, is what has made her the type of advisor
that she is today. She tries to be everything that she didnt get as an undergraduate
student. She began as an undecided student and was basically told that she should
quit school because she was wasting her time. She said her parents were paying for
her education so they pushed her to continue and forge ahead. Amy admits that she
was probably not the best advisee either because she was shy and didnt ask a lot
of questions. According to Amy the responsibility falls on the student but advisors
can help by taking an interest and reaching out.
Amy left her position at Thiel College in 2011 and joined the Penn State
Shenango staff later that fall. She laughed as she said this but told me she feels
that once you learn the Penn State system you could work at any other university in
the entire country. Its always a learning process; just when you think you have
things down something changes. She confessed that it has taken her about three
years to finally begin to feel comfortable and confident in her role. This is the first
year that she has a true grasp on the change of campus and change of major
processes. Its so different from her experience at Thiel because there she only had
to know the 40 or so majors that students could complete while at Penn State she
needs to know information about all of the programs including roughly 160 majors,

credits, and entrance to major requirements. The advising experience that she
gained from Thiel helped her to walk in to her role as an advisor at Penn State
Shenango however she said she would almost have hated for her first job to have
been at Penn State because it would have been so difficult to grasp the advising
piece in addition to learning the requirements that are different for every program.
Her biggest challenge as Penn State Shenango is working with adult learners.
Its still a struggle learning how to rope adult students in and then figuring out how
to inspire them or help them when they may be underprepared for the program that
they are in. It can sometimes be frustrating when you are working with students, of
any age, who just cannot seem to understand that they may need to look at another
program or think about a backup plan. You can find yourself spending so much time
on some students and then be worried that you didnt give enough time or attention
to other students, especially within the Penn State system. She also pointed out
that its difficult to catch students at a commuter campus because we dont have
coaches or RAs who are connected with these students to serve as another outlet.
She said they rely on her corner office that is full of windows to reach out to
students as they are passing by. She said she sends letters through the mail, and
will even go to their classroom to try to talk to students before or after class. She
has learned the best way to reach out to students is by building connections with
them. She has also learned over time that you have to let students know that you
truly do care about them so they gain a sense of trust and understanding. She said
the most rewarding parts of her job are building relationships with students and
having the opportunity to attend conferences which have allowed her to build
connections with other professionals and provide new energy to her day to day
routine. She loves the opportunity to learn what others in the field are doing and
how she can adapt their ideas to bring back to her own job, campus, and students.
I was interested to learn how she feels technology has changed her job. In
her opinion it has changed her job as in advisor for the better. One of the things
Amy really likes about technology is the ability for students to pull their own degree
audits through eLion. Degree audits are fantastic because they allow students to
be able to go in and see exactly what classes they have completed versus what
they still need to take in order to make progress towards graduation. She wants to
be able to provide as much assistance as she can to students so her office holds

degree audit sessions at least twice a semester to teach students how to pull their
degree audit and then how to read them. I asked if she sees more of a problem with
students self-advising now that they are able to schedule online through eLion. She
said she thinks there is a good mix between students who self-advise and those who
schedule with their advisor. She encourages her students to schedule on their own
but also stresses the importance of checking in with their advisors on a regular
basis. Advising is much more than just scheduling, so its important to develop a
relationship with your advisor.
I asked her what type of advice she would give to professionals who are
entering the field of academic advising. Get hooked up with the National Academic
Advising Association, NACADA, because you can find resources for everything. Also,
be aware that there is never any true down time in the field of advising. Some times
of the year are going to be busier than others but there is always something to be
working on or preparing for. She said as you will find with any job there are going
to be bumps in the road along the way but you have to try things in order to see
what works and what doesnt. Treat every experience like a learning experience so
even if it fails you arent completely out. She also says its important to be visible
to students outside of your office. Attend student events, take part in campus wide
programs, and show that you truly care because people will take notice of that.
Often times this means working outside of your regularly scheduled hours but she
said its things like this that go a long way with students.
If she were hiring someone for her department right now, she said would be
looking for someone who is well-rounded. She thinks its important for new
professionals to have an understanding of different areas of higher education, in
addition to academic advising. She has strongly encouraged all of the students who
have completed internships in her office to make sure they have the opportunity to
try out several areas in higher education rather than just focusing on one particular
field. She feels that gives them the opportunity to see how the pieces of the puzzle
fit together, especially at smaller colleges/universities where they may have to take
on multiple responsibilities.
Its clear that Amy has a passion for her job and that passion is what has
made her successful as an academic advisor. She has built relationships with
students that have continued even though those students are now graduates and

have moved on in their professional and personal lives. She shared with me that she
recently attended the wedding of a former student and also went to Philadelphia
over Christmas break to attend the baby shower of one of her former students. Her
interview inspired me to want to be do better at my own job and Im sure she has
the same effect on all others she comes in to contact with on a regular basis. I am
grateful to have met Amy during my undergraduate experience and feel even more
blessed that I get to work with her in a professional manner now.