New Year, More Focused Me!

By Michelle Sorrells, College Adviser at North Pitt High School | January 12, 2017

Welcome back everyone! After a nice long winter break, it can be difficult to come back to work with a lot of enthusiasm, and the thought of all the work to do can seem daunting. Despite the challenges, the NC State College Advising Corps is working to come into 2017 refreshed!

This started by having our Mid-Year Training, which is a time when all the NC State Advisors are able to get together, reconnect, and to refresh our skills for the semester to come. We were able to discuss a myriad of topics including:

• FAFSA/Verification
• Self-Care
• Helping seniors transition to college
• How to get parents involved
• Our program goals

Some of these topics may seem simple but it is very important to remember the population that the NC State College Advisors serve which is predominantly rural. Many things that we take for granted are luxuries for our students such as; a computer at home, internet access, transportation to a public library, and even transportation from school if a student wanted to stay late. Therefore, it is very important that we as advisors are creative and efficient in our methods of reaching our students and parents. Some of the tricks of the trade include:

• Parent nights that include food
• Opening computer labs during the school day
• Coming in before and after school to meet with parents
• Using sporting events to meet parents and get the word out

Needless to say, an advisor’s work is never finished! We are continually searching for new ways to be innovative and to help our students to their post-secondary dreams. After the break and rejuvenation during our Mid-Year training, we are ready to do just that!