By Lyndsee Cantly:
Flourishing students are nothing new to Amarillo College, especially with employees working around the clock to make sure students are successful and thriving.
Of those employees, perhaps one of the most important to students’ achievement is their adviser.
Advisers serve many roles within the school, from greenlighting to degree plans and, according to many students, they can be a significant factor in whether a student even finishes a degree.
“When I was debating on if I should drop out or not, I was able to talk to my adviser and she went over all my options and helped me see what was best for me at that point in my life,” Anna Heard, a psychology major, said.
“She was there to support my decisions and got me to understand that staying in school was my best option,” said Heard.
Advisers can also help students decide where their careers are going and if it’s even the right fit.
“I actually had an adviser help me discover that the major I was in wasn’t really what I wanted to do,” Sierra Villarreal, an art history major, said.
Villarreal said that the adviser was helpful in guiding her where to go and what other advisers to see even though it meant leaving that adviser’s field.
While advisers are extraordinarily helpful at times, some students do have a few things they wish could be done differently.
“It’s not very common, but I did once have an adviser project their personal expectations on me and it really made me feel unconfident in my decision making,” Villarreal said.
“They can also be a little bit hard to reach,” Tanner Widowski, a general studies major, said.
Despite the minor bumps though, many students seem to be satisfied overall with their advisers and said and how they’ve helped them throughout their college careers.
“I’ve honestly had a mostly positive experience with them. The few advisers I’ve met have been kind, helpful, and imperative to helping me achieve my goals,” said Heard.
“Advisers to me have always been there to help so as a whole I love them and appreciate all of the work they do for us,” Villareal said.
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