Since I transferred to Appalachian State in 2013, there have been a lot of ups and downs,some being academic, some being personal. Through all of which I have been able to confide in my academic advisor who has continually gone above and beyond for me since our first interaction. This being said I would like to thank her and all of the other advisors who go above and beyond for their students.

Thank you for always making me feel important.

My advisor always has a full calendar. She receives hundreds of emails daily but still responds on a personal, non-generic level. During registration periods, you might receive the auto response email due to the extremely high volume, but she still will write a personal email within a pretty short time period. The fact that she is always this busy, but still takes the time to answer me always makes me feel important. It makes me realize how much she cares about her students. I have encountered tons of crisis in my past three years at ASU (whether academic or personal) which she has on more than one occasion used her lunch break to meet with me to help restore my life balance. I have watched her eat her pita and hummus while turning down a lunch date with her husband to make sure I got the help I needed. Now that person is a dedication and I couldn’t be more thankful for to her for taking the time out of her already busy schedule for me.

Thank you for helping me survive the stress of applying to graduate school.

Being a current Senior and graduating this upcoming May, I applied for graduate school last semester. She was there to help every step of the way. Through e-mail, phone, and sometimes even just dropping unannounced at her office. She helped me through the lost transcripts, preparing for the GRE, first, second, third drafts of my personal statements, my scholarship essays, resume, all of it. She always was encouraging and helped me pursue whatever was thrown my way.

Thank you for always having faith in me.

There were times where I didn’t have much faith in myself, but yours never faltered. You always knew just what to say to keep me going. I have come to you with all types of goals for myself, which you have always encouraged. You never doubted my ability for one second in my accomplishing them. You have made me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. When I failed, you helped me see the good in whatever situation and why that failure would help mold my future moves.

I can just never thank you enough.

College can be a difficult time in any person's life. There are a lot of transitioning phases during your college years. You are trying to separate from the emotional dependence of your parents and spread your wings, but you still need advice from an “adult-ier adult” sometimes. You were so much more than my academic advisor, you were a mentor and my friend. You always spoke to me as an equal and helped me see value in myself that I hadn’t seen before. I can’t thank you enough for helping me through this transitioning phase of my life into “adulthood.” You are truly one the kindest, compassionate, and inspiring people. I know I am not the first or the last you will help, Appalachian State is so lucky to have such an asset to their team.