- Decrease text size
- Increase text size
President's Award for Academic Advising
Adapted from remarks by prepared by Kristin Harper, assistant dean for undergraduate programs, on the occasion of the presentation of the 2008 President’s Award for Academic Advising to Heather Haliburton and Rebecca Hapes.
Heather Haliburton
The President’s Award for Academic Advising is presented to Heather Haliburton, senior academic advisor I, department of ecosystem science and management.
Reflecting on nearly five years of advising students, her nominator states that Heather is the most energetic, dedicated, and resourceful advisor he has ever known. She is creative and works with an inordinately high number of students. Heather constantly searches for ways to modernize procedures, elevate services and make the department a place where students can succeed. She is in front of issues and behind ideas to improve the department.|
The two students who wrote letters in support of her nomination come from different life perspectives -- one is a traditional female student and the other is a male military veteran in his 30s with 100 credit hours. Both tell of her dedication and expertise.
The first of these two students wrote: “Heather allowed me to open my eyes and see all the possibilities that my future held, but at the same time to remember that success comes from within and that you have to be willing to believe in yourself if you’re ever going to reach your goals. I owe some of my degree to Heather for never stopping believing in me nor giving up on me!”
The second student wrote: “From our first meeting she sat down with me and went over each class that I had, ensuring that I was receiving the credit I had earned. From the start she treated me like a person. We discussed what my plans were, when I wanted to graduate and my long term goals. … [W]hen I walked out of Heather’s office I had two possible degree plans in my hand and credit for six additional hours. For the first time at Texas A&M I had an idea of when and how I was going to graduate.”
This veteran, now back on active duty in Iraq, continued: “How much do I think she deserves the President’s Award for Academic Advising? She deserves it enough that I took time away from combat operations here in Fallujah to write this. She has been, and continues to be amazing; even when her student is eight thousand miles away. She is a consummate professional, an asset to the university and the standard to which all other advisors should be held.”
Rebecca Hapes
The President’s Award for Academic Advising is presented to Ms. Rebecca Hapes, senior academic advisor I, department of entomology.
According to her nominators, Rebecca runs the world — at least the world of entomology at Texas A&M.
Her nominator describes her as the “storefront” of the department and credits her for spearheading outreach programs that have yielded a 71 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment since 2003. He said that, through her retention programs, probation requirements, and commitment to students from recruitment to job placement, she is the “fuel” that keeps students going. She was an invaluable in the conceptualization, formation, and implementation of the department’s relatively new degree in forensic and investigative sciences. A faculty member described her as the department’s “academic heartbeat.”
With a process of individual outreach, Rebecca has made a special effort to attract and retain students who are the first in their families to attend college.
A student said that she is one of the few people he knows who accepts walk-in visits from students when they don’t have appointments, and that she helps students achieve their academic goals by informing of new courses and helping them through application processes. The student credits Rebecca for her compassion toward a lost and confused student who needed guidance on his academic career and his goals.
