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National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

Recipients

See the current and past Outstanding First-Year Student Advocates.

2023 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocates

Casey Headshot

Terry Wayne Casey

Mr. Terry Casey was a first-generation student who has dedicated his entire career to making students feel at home at Jacksonville State University. He served as Director of Student Life, Dean of Students, and is currently Vice President of Student Affairs. He was the first faculty/staff member to implement a first-year experience course at JSU. In 2016 he was recognized as the “Most Outstanding Faculty/Staff Member of the Year” based on his contributions to the first-year experience. When asked about his commitment to students, Mr. Casey stated “The most important thing I can do for students is be their advocate.” 

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Mathew Chetnik 

Mathew Chetnik is the Assistant Dean for Student Success and the First Year Experience at Salem State University, overseeing academic courses, advising initiatives, and co-curricular initiatives designed to support new students. After failing out of college his first semester, he went on to earn a BA in English and Black Studies from SUNY New Paltz, an MA in Student Development from Appalachian State University, and has completed PhD coursework at UMass Boston in Higher Education with a research focus on un(der)documented students in higher education. Previously, he held positions in Residence Life at Salem State, UMass Amherst and Ithaca College.

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Adebimpe Dare

Adebimpe “Addie” Dare serves as the assistant dean/director of multicultural student success in the Student Success Center. Foremost, she strives to create unique opportunities for multicultural students that will lead them to academic and social fulfillment. As assistant dean, she has a host of responsibilities, including directing academic advising and mentoring of primarily multicultural, first-generation students; supervising the Multicultural Scholarship Program; communicating with faculty about the progress of scholars; collaborating with College partners to coordinate the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation; and overseeing the Transitions Program, a pre-orientation program for multicultural and first-generation students intended to get them acclimated with all aspects of the College. Dare earned her undergraduate bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth in 2001.

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Renee Forsyth  

As the First Year Experience Program Coordinator at Pima Community college, her mission is to CONNECT first year students with peers, mentors, and resources for support to CONTINUE through their college education with velocity to COMPLETE their academic, personal and professional goals. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from California’s Azusa Pacific University with an emphasis in Organizational Management, minor in Leadership Studies, and cognate in Sociology. Holding a Master of Science degree in College Student Personnel from Arkansas Tech University, she has worked in Higher across many fields related to the first year and student success.

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Leslie Holman-Brooks  

Leslie Holman-Brooks serves as the director of the Denmark Technical College Department of Career and Student Success. A first-generation college graduate who understands the value of education and hard work, Holman-Brooks credits her faith, family and mentors for providing support and wisdom as she built a career in higher education. Her diverse background in career development, education, counseling and workforce development has uniquely prepared her to guide students thorough the challenges they face as they pursue their academic and professional goals. Over the last 10 years, Holman-Brooks has developed a passion for student success, retention and career services. Holman-Brooks holds two master’s degrees from South Carolina State University, a Master of Education and a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling, as well as Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Voorhees College. 

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Linda Krzykowski  

Dr. Linda Krzykowski is the Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director for the First Year Experience. She joined the University at Albany in 1998 and has served in a multitude of academic roles including faculty in the School of Business, liaison with SUNY, and senior leadership in the Office of Undergraduate Education. Responsible for developing and implementing UAlbany’s first year experience program she has built a Student Engagement Portfolio that today includes Living-Learning Communities, a freshman seminar program, a transition-to-college curriculum, and transfer programs that create academic pathways supporting and fostering student and faculty connections.

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Dody Pelts  

After working 20 years as a program coordinator and administrator in the University of the Ozarks’ Jones Learning Center, Dody Pelts was selected in 2021 as the college’s first Vice President for Student Success. Pelts provides broad leadership for all initiatives that guide and advance the University’s retention, persistence, and completion efforts. Under Pelts’ leadership, freshman fall-to-spring retention improved from 83 percent in 2021 to 88 percent in 2022. Pelts earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arkansas Tech University, a master’s degree in school psychology from the University of Central Arkansas and is an Arkansas Licensed Psychological Examiner. 

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Eboni Pringle  

Dr. Eboni Pringle is the Dean of University College at Kent State University. She began working at Kent State in 1998 as an academic advisor and has gone on to serve in many leadership roles focused on student success programming. Among her accomplishments at Kent State, Dr. Pringle has implemented a system-wide undergraduate research symposium to provide a high-impact experience for students, coordinated a system-wide President’s Symposium on Retention to assist members of the community in understanding their unique contributions to student success, and conceived and served on the implementation team for the creation of the Dynamic Checklist, an online checklist to assist new students in completing the enrollment process and helping to ensure access and a seamless transition to Kent State. Dr. Pringle received both her Ph.D. in higher education administration and M.Ed. in higher education and student personnel from Kent State. She received her B.S. in speech and hearing from Ohio University. 

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Julie Tetley

Julie Tetley is Deputy Head of Curriculum, Registration and Advising and Assistant Professor teaching in the Behavioral Sciences department at The United States Air Force Academy. Julie earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California Riverside in Psychobiology, Master of Education at Marymount University, and Doctor of Education from The George Washington University. Her doctoral dissertation focused on self-authorship, hope, and meaning in life among second-year college students. Dr. Tetley has more than 25 years of experience teaching and advising and was a contributing author in Helping Sophomores Succeed: Understanding and Improving the Second-Year Experience. 

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Arlene Velez  

Dr. Arlene Velez is the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Albizu University in Puerto Rico. She is an Associate Professor and a licensed psychologist. She created the first program in cyberpsychology in Puerto Rico and an undergraduate mentoring program. She has a B.S. in Secondary Science Education from the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and earned her M.S. in Counseling & Guidance from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She completed a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Purdue University. Dr. Velez has a certificate in Student Affairs and Higher Education Administration from UC Berkeley.

 

Past Recipients

Year Name Institute
2022 Liz Castillo St. Philip’s College
2022 Heidi Croatt Anoka-Ramsey Community College
2022 Matthew Holsapple Husson University
2022 Andrea “Annie” Keith Randolph-Macon College
2022 Patricia Moran Micks University of Texas at Austin
2022 Shannon O’Neill Albion College
2022 Nicholas Petty Cleveland State University
2022 Kateryna Schray  Marshall University
2022 Starr Wentzel Eastern Kentucky University
2022 Erin Weston Georgia College
2021 Nicole Carr University of South Alabama
2021 Lorenzo Eduvala University of Guam
2021 Tracey Glaessgen Missouri State University
2021 Peter Higgins Gordon State College
2021 Allison Hoffmann Northwest Missouri State University
2021 Renique Kersh Northern Illinois University
2021 Nicholas Koberstein Keuka College
2021 Damon Kraft Kansas Wesleyan University
2021 Crystal Pitrois Greenville Technical College
2021 Asif Wilson Harold Washington College
2020 Amy Baldwin University of Central Arkansas
2020 DeOnte Brown Clemson University
2020 Carol Dochen Texas State University in San Marcos
2020 Julie McLaughlin Cincinnati State
2020 Katherine Powell Berry College
2020 Rebecca Royal Union County College
2020 Gregory Singleton Austin Peay State University
2020 Heather Thrush Wabash College
2020 Mary Ellen Wade Loyola University
2020 Annette Walstad Carroll College
2019 Crystal Benedicks Wabash College
2019 Katie Chartier College of the Desert
2019 Anneke Chy University of Texas at Austin
2019 Robin Cunningham Seton Hall University
2019 Brigitte Lahme Sonoma State University
2019 Don Nix University of Arkansas
2019 René Sawyer Greenville Technical College
2019 Calley Stevens-Taylor Ceder Crest College
2019 Lorett Swank Southeastern Louisiana University
2019 John Wegner Angelo State University
2018 Courtney Bringley  Paul Smith's College
2018 Tim Cairy  Widener University
2018 Christopher Francisco Oklahoma State University
2018 Lynn Gillette Nicholls State University
2018 Ernest Jefferies Davidson College
2018 Amber Morgan Greenville Technical College
2018 Paz Oliverez California State University, Dominquez Hills
2018 Joanne Pederson California State University, San Marcos
2018  David Rizzo  University of California, Davis
2018 Jennie Towner Hartford Community College
2017 Alan Bearman  Washburn University 
2017 Lauren Bell Randolph-Macon College
2017 Gary Bowling Northwest Vista College
2017 Herbert Bruce Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
2017 Jodi Calvert Three Rivers Community College
2017 Deirdre Heistad University of Northern Iowa
2017 Marisel Herrera Arizona State University
2017 Beverly Kahn Farmingdale State College
2017 Michael Puma Loyola University Maryland
2017 Jennifer Young Calumet College of St. Joseph
2016 Dante Cantú State University of New York at New Paltz
2016 Chris Caplinger Georgia Southern University
2016 Jenn Daniels Lyon College
2016 Brenda Dede Clarion University
2016 Patsy Fischer Seward County Community College/Area Technical School
2016 Sonia Maria University of New Mexico
2016 Erin Kimura-Walsh Santa Clara University
2016 Nacy KingSander Texas A&M University – Kingsville
2016 Gerald Poe Wilberforce University
2016 Marnelle Alexis Stephens MacCormac College
2015 Gregory Budzban Southern Illinois University 
2015 Michele Campagna Montclair State University
2015 Frank Collins University of New Brunswick
2015 Richard Gebauer Cabrini College
2015 Christy Henry Wesleyan College
2015 Vincent J. Kloskowski III Saint Joseph's College
2015 Shannon McCasland Aims Community College
2015 Ann Seavey Gordon College
2015 Jill Simons Arkansas State University
2015 Maria Villaseñor California State University, Monterey Bay
2014 Barbara Boyette Guilford College (undergraduate institution: Washington University)
2014 Peter Ellard Siena College (undergraduate institution: Fordham University)
2014 Tracy Gottlieb Seton Hall University (undergraduate institution: Seton Hall University)
2014 April Heaney University of Wyoming (Undergraduate institution: Casper College)
2014 April Mann University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (undergraduate institution: Mississippi State University)
2014 Colin J. Morris Manhattanville College (undergraduate institution: University of Manchester (UK))
2014 Cynthia Mosqueda El Camino College (undergraduate institution: University of California, Los Angeles)
2014 David T. Ouimette University of Connecticut (undergraduate institution: Gettysburg College)
2014 Shelagh Rose Pasadena City College (undergraduate institution: Pasadena City College)
2014 Phyllis Simpson Our Lady of the Lake College (undergraduate institution: Louisiana State University)
2013 Darian Burwell Gallaudet University
2013 Tamara Clunis Amarillo College
2013 Keisha L. Hoerrner Kennesaw State University
2013 Brad E. Hollingshead Medaille College
2013 Virginia McAleese Paul Smith’s College
2013 Sally K. Murphy California State University, East Bay
2013 Gregory D. Robinson Olive-Harvey College
2013 Michael Salmon Marymount Manhattan College
2013 Cheryl Spector California State University, Northridge
2013 Jayme Millsap Stone University of Central Arkansas
2012 Margaret Garroway Howard Community College
2012 Andrew Grant Walsh University
2012 Nicole Hendersen Southern Connecticut State University
2012 John Lanning University of Colorado Denver
2012 Katherine Lehman Otterbein University
2012 Amybeth Maurer Elgin Community College
2012 Christine M. Nowik Cedar Crest College
2012 Karen Palmunen Saint Joseph College
2012 Andrew Person Mercy College
2012 Karen Weathermon Washington State University
2011 Julie Amon Case Western Reserve University
2011 Michelle Bandla SUNY Oswego
2011 Fabania DesRosiers Dominican College of Blauvelt
2011 Lizabeth Doherty Mohawk Valley Community College
2011 Rachel Duff Anderson Siena Heights University
2011 Marsha Fralick Cuyamaca Community College
2011 Keldon Henley Ouachita Baptist University
2011 Marilyn Kurata University of Alabama at Birmingham
2011 Kia Kuresman Goucher College
2011 Denise Rode Northern Illinois University
2010 Christine Benson Madonna University
2010 Dale B. Billingsley University of Louisville
2010 Harvest Collier Missouri University of Science and Technology
2010 Christa D. Fye Hampden-Sydney College
2010 Stacy Gilbert Louisiana Tech University
2010 Richard Reid South Dakota State University
2010 Sarah K. Shutt J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
2010 Stanley D. Singleton Paine College
2010 Tonya Strickland Bainbridge College
2010 Nancy Walburn University of Alabama at Birmingham
2009 Debra K. Borden Corning Community College
2009 Lisa Harris Bortman Whittier College
2009 Felicia L. Ganther College of Lake County
2009 Jennifer Griggs Butler University
2009 Steven Higgins Ohio State University at Lima
2009 Christy Price Dalton State College
2009 Ralph J. Rascati Kennesaw State University
2009 Michele Rasmussen Duke University
2009 D. Kim Sawrey University of North Carolina, Wilmington
2009 Gayle A. Williams Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
2008 Carrie Brimhall Minnesota State Community and Technical College – Fergus Falls Campus
2008 Nannette Commander Georgia State University
2008 Lynita Cooksey Arkansas State University
2008 James Diedrick Agnes Scott College
2008 Robert H. Garvey College of the Holy Cross
2008 Russell Lowery-Hart West Texas A&M University
2008 Steady H. Moono Montgomery County Community College
2008 DeLaine Priest University of Central Florida
2008 Alison Ridley Hollins University
2008 George Roundy University of Puget Sound
2007 Rebecca Ament Zane State College
2007 Robert J. Anderson The College of New Jersey
2007 Paul Arcario LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York
2007 Tim Boatmun Southeastern Oklahoma State University
2007 Leanna Fenneberg Saint Louis University
2007 Mariana J. Lebron Syracuse University
2007 Pamela M. Milloy Grand View College
2007 Pamela Person University of Cincinnati
2007 Maria C. Bennett Rose Fairmont State University
2007 William J. Tenbrunsel Roanoke College
2006 Dolores Bertoti Alvernia College
2006 Aaron M. Brower University of Wisconsin – Madison
2006 Dorothy Harris Trinity University (Washington)
2006 Laurie Lynn Hazard Bryant University
2006 Jennifer Ounjian-Auque Contra Costa College
2006 Adele Pittendrigh Montana State University
2006 Zaide Pixley Kalamazoo College
2006 Adrian Rodriguez Butler Community College
2006 Joni Webb Petschauer Appalachian State University
2006 Peter White University of New Mexico
2005 Dennis Cook Gloucester County College
2005 Phyllis Cremer Woodbury University
2005 Marcella H. Esler SUNY College at Brockport
2005 Lois Fennelly Bethune-Cookman College
2005 Mabel G. Freeman The Ohio State University
2005 Carole L. Isaak Elizabethtown College
2005 Richard Kirk Texas State Technical College – Harlingen
2005 Cheryl A. Rice State University of West Georgia
2005 Philip Shahbaz Azusa Pacific University
2005 Maggy Smith University of Texas at El Paso
2004 Earl G. Bagley Columbus State University
2004 Rosemary King Carr Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
2004 Kathleen S. Evans State University of New York College at Oswego
2004 Jason Finkelstein Bronx Community College
2004 Jeffrey L. Hale Southeastern Oklahoma State University
2004 Patricia Maestro Mount San Antonio College
2004 Eric L. Newhall Occidental College
2004 Janice Odom North Carolina State University
2004 Robert M. Smith Slippery Rock University
2004 Dorothy P. Ward University of Texas at El Paso
2003 Cassandre Giguere Alvarado University of Texas at Austin
2003 Valery Y.R. Bates-Brown Virginia State University
2003 Kay Dean Bethea Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College – Jefferson Davis Campus
2003 Glenn Blalock Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
2003 Emily F. Cutrer Arizona State University West
2003 Michael A. Dunn Radford University
2003 Vivia L. Fowler Columbia College
2003 Joel Nossoff University of New Mexico
2003 David Rehm Mount Saint Mary’s College
2003 Laurel Williamson Lower Columbia College
2002 Sarah J. Bumgarner University of North Carolina at Asheville
2002 Mona J. Casady Southwest Missouri State University
2002 Andrew Dunham Albion College
2002 Kathleen Ann Gover Brooklyn College, The City University of New York
2002 Robert E. Hawkinson Willamette University
2002 Loann King Kennedy-King College
2002 Rhonda Mandel Oswego State University
2002 Francine G. McNairy Millersville University
2002 Valdrie Walker Sweet Briar College
2002 Katie Watkins Dean College
2001 Theresa P. Ammirati Connecticut College
2001 Eija Ayravainen CUNY, Hunter College
2001 Ingrid M. Blood Pennsylvania State University
2001 Joseph B. Cuseo Marymount College
2001 Duncan S. Harris University of Wyoming
2001 Gail H. McKee Roanoke College
2001 Ruth Ann Policella State University of New York at Potsdam
2001 Chris Staub William Rainey Harper College
2001 Margaret Moore Willen Eastern New Mexico University
2001 Fran Zaniello Northern Kentucky University
2000 John Back Biola University
2000 John Burney Loras College
2000 Luther Hughes Western Kentucky University
2000 Patricia Kowal Blackburn College
2000 Jerry Pattengale Indiana Wesleyan University
2000 Candace Ready Piedmont Technical College
2000 Judith Smith University of California, Los Angeles
2000 Kurt Spellmeyer Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
2000 David Whitman University of Wyoming
2000 Allen Zimmerman Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute
1999 Susanne Adams Sandhills Community College
1999 Eugene Bales Bethany College
1999 James Brink Texas Tech University
1999 Mildred Church Dandridge The Sage Colleges
1999 Lisa Donato Essex County College
1999 Douglas Gaffin University of Oklahoma
1999 Vivian Garcia Conover State University of New York at Fredonia
1999 Becky Houck University of Portland
1999 Nancy King Kennesaw State University
1999 Arthur Mori Chaminade University of Honolulu
1999 Joseph O’Sullivan Bronx Community College
1999 Susan Schapiro State University of New York at Buffalo
1999 Raymond Schwarz State University of New York at New Paltz
1998 Debra Bell Baker Aims Community College
1998 Andrew Bushko Widener University
1998 Linda Carter Cumberland College
1998 David DeFrain Central Missouri State University
1998 Scott Evenbeck Indiana University – Purdue University at Indianapolis
1998 Kathy Fish Cumberland College
1998 Sally Roden University of Central Arkansas
1998 LaVell Saunders Utah State University
1998 Adrian Schiess Xavier University
1998 Deborah Shaw Conner Auburn University
1998 Kathleen Skubikowski Middlebury College
1998 JoAnn Vicks Mary Holmes College
1998 Arthur Wheeler University of Portland
1997 Catherine Andersen Gallaudet University
1997 Patricia Bayer Richard Ohio University
1997 Rennie Brantz Appalachian State University
1997 Dan Fredricks Saint Francis College
1997 Fred Hinson Western Carolina University
1997 Michael Kerman Adirondack Community College
1997 Michael Moore Georgia Southern University
1997 John Slade Forsyth Technical Community College
1997 Morris Wray High Point University
1997 W. C. Burriss Young Harvard College
1996 Jeanne Block Goodan Midway College
1996 Jay Chaskes Rowan College of New Jersey
1996 Alan Dillingham Illinois State University
1996 John Gillen Castleton State College
1996 Sandra Gregerman University of Michigan
1996 Audrey Harrigan-Lamont LaGuardia Community College
1996 William Potter Alma College
1996 Bill Ramage Castleton State College
1996 Judith Rizzi University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
1996 Mary Seeger Grand Valley State University
1996 Beverly Slaughter Brevard Community College
1996 Amanda Yale Slippery Rock University
1995 Grant Cornwell St. Lawrence University
1995 Nancy Dishner East Tennessee State University
1995 Joan Ehren Saint Xavier University
1995 David Gilbert Linfield College
1995 William Hartel Marietta College
1995 Connie Hood Tennessee Technological University
1995 Judith Hooper Mission College
1995 Sung Bok Kim State University of New York University at Albany
1995 Margaret Maguire State University of New York College of Oneonta
1995 Nancy Mergler University of Oklahoma
1995 Richard Wallace College of Alameda
1994 Claudia Barrett Kent State University at Salem
1994 Thomas Carskadon Mississippi State University
1994 Glenda Crippen Purdue University
1994 David Eggebrecht Concordia University, Wisconsin
1994 Gretchen Gall Marian College of Fond du Lac
1994 Dee Allen Goedeke High Point University
1994 Jane Kennedy Brevard Community College
1994 Neil Rudin State University College at Buffalo
1994 Timothy Walter University of Tulsa
1994 Christine Wolf University of Texas at San Antonio
1993 Lorene (Sallie) Brown El Camino College
1993 MaryKaye Cochran Longwood College
1993 Asa Eldh Wheaton College
1993 Bruce Janasiewicz Florida State University
1993 Sandra Powers University of Charleston
1993 Stuart Rubner University of Wisconsin – Parkside
1993 Kathleen Schur Inver Hills Community College
1993 Eleanor Terry William Jewell College
1993 Myron Umerski St. Cloud State University
1993 Jerry Warner Northern Kentucky University
1992 Carson Carr University of Albany, State University of New York
1992 Thomas Flynn Mount Saint Mary’s College
1992 M. Cecile Forté Suffolk Community College
1992 Karen Greenberg Hunter College of The City University of New York
1992 Carol Henley Howard University
1992 Gary Kramer Brigham Young University
1992 Natalie Krawitz Stephens College
1992 Robert McKelvain Abilene Christian University
1992 Meryl Sussman LaGuardia Community College
1992 Ana Maria Torres Aybar Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
1992 Carl Wahlstrom Genesse Community College
1992 Neari Warner Southern University
1991 Ralph Anttonen Millersville University
1991 Dena Beeghly Cecil Community College
1991 Betty Ruth Cully Enterprise State Junior College
1991 Joyce Donatelli Wilson College
1991 Richard Guarasci St. Lawrence University
1991 Jay Mechling University of California, Davis
1991 W. Laurance Quane Illinois State University
1991 Cynthia Sellers Fort Valley State College
1991 O. Kenneth Webb Appalachian State University
1991 David Woodyard Denison University
1990 Ann Ferren American University
1990 Peter Gold State University of New York at Buffalo
1990 James Iaccino Illinois Benedictine College
1990 Douglas Kenny Westchester Community College
1990 Mary McMann Onondaga Community College
1990 Jack Meiland University of Michigan
1990 Mary Oestereicher Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
1990 Brenda Rust-O’Beirne University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
1990 Lois Sculco Seton Hill College
1990 Maria Vallejo Bergen Community College

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