The Great Relationship With My Academic Advisor

Hey everyone! 

Hope your semester is going well and that you are able to enjoy your senior year, even if it might look a bit different than what you may have imagined. 

Here at Bradley, we are gearing up for academic advising and registration, which is a time where students meet with their academic advisor and then pick classes for their next semester. 

One thing that I love about Bradley is that all students get an academic advisor, and mine happens to be great. I have had the opportunity to develop a great relationship with my academic advisor, Dr. Pavelko. I remember at the beginning of my junior year, I went into her office and told her I wanted to switch my major to Public Relations but didn’t want to stay for a fifth year. 

She took the time to help me make a plan for the next two years to make sure I could meet all the requirements as well as talked through various career opportunities in the field. After my first meeting with her, I felt way better about both changing my major and going into Public Relations. 

Since then, I have met with Dr. P every semester to talk about how the semester is going, what classes I will need (and enjoy taking) for the next semester, and also to just catch up on life. It has been great to have that connection with someone throughout the majority of my college experience. 

Another great thing about having Dr. Pavelko as my academic advisor is that I have also had her as my professor twice, and a third time coming next semester. Through this, I have been able to continue to grow that relationship with her, as well as get advice and feedback on my work. Through continuing work with her, both inside and outside of the classroom has helped me to understand how Bradley is really setting me up for success. 

Being a senior who is applying to graduate school, having connections like this really matters. Someone who can attest to my work ethic and skills is very beneficial to the application process. She has agreed to help me by writing a letter of recommendation for me and has coached me through my graduate school search process.

To keep today short, I want to leave you with a simple piece of advice. Take advantage of your academic advisors in college. They are a great resource that can help you in ways you might not even know yet, which can make a huge difference in your life. I know it did for me.