Aric Faulkner

Education

• Associate Degree, Foreign Language, Illinois Central College
• Bachelor of Arts, Spanish, Illinois State University
• Master of Science, College Student Personnel Administration, Illinois State University

Advising Philosophy

As an academic advisor I have explored and learned about my academic advising style and philosophy. Reflective of my academic advising philosophy, I commit myself to the following with each student:

• Explore goals and purpose. While higher education institutions have missions, college students also have their own missions to accomplish. As an academic advisor I believe that my responsibility is to serve as a student’s global positioning system (GPS) to success. This includes advising and mentoring a student regarding their academic goals, professional goals, and other life goals beyond college. It is my hope that a student develops confidence in their goals and purpose by the time they graduate or transition to another academic advisor.
• Develop identities and a sense of self. One of the most profound experiences that a student can have during college is to develop their identities and their sense of self. I understand that a student’s progression towards identity development may not be linear (Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development). I feel compelled as an academic advisor to stay connected to my students in order to support their identity development process. Furthermore, I understand that as an academic advisor I serve as a coach and mentor who helps facilitate this process and not just witness it.
• Accept changes and transitions. Students are simultaneously juggling different changes and transitions beyond the academic ones. I always try to consider the interactions between the qualities of a student experiencing a transition, the student’s perception of their transition, and characteristics of their environments both pre-transition and post-transition (Schlossberg’s Theory of Transition). Although Schlossberg argues that adaptation may not always be achieved, I believe that all students are in a constant state of evolution. My role as an academic advisor is to support their development.
• Balance challenge with support. A college student’s journey often is accompanied by roadblocks and deterrents. I believe that an academic advisor’s role is to provide avenues of support that will help balance out those challenges and foster learning and growth. Students need support in order to sufficiently tolerate the stress of their challenges (Sanford’s Theory of Challenge and Support). When meeting with a student I try my best to provide information and referrals to resources that are fitting for their circumstances. Given that stress heavily affects an individual’s life, one of my goals as an academic advisor is to help a student learn how to manage their stressful challenges.
• Practice self-care along the way. Practicing self-care is vital when navigating the ups and downs of life, in my opinion. I believe that an academic advisor should encourage their students to take care of themselves as much as possible. I value the encouragement of self-care because I have learned that no one will live a student’s life for them. A student is responsible for their wellness and an academic advisor is responsible for helping them find appropriate resources. Self-care looks different for every individual and an academic advisor needs to be flexible and willing to adapt to every student’s situation.
• Recognize that students matter. I value the students that I meet with as individuals and I want them to know that they matter to me and to our campus community. A student that I meet with is much more than just another number on my caseload. I see and treat this student as someone who is unique and important. I try my best to remember every student’s name, major, situation, and previous conversations with me. When a student interacts with me I want them to always feel like they matter. I never want them to feel like they do not belong in the campus community.