AAC Outstanding Faculty Advisor Aysa Galbraith

University of Arkansas

Aysa Galbraith

Aysa Galbraith, teaching assistant professor of First-Year Engineering, was awarded the Academic Advising Council's 2022 Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year award. The Academic Advising Council recognizes one faculty advisor annually for their outstanding contributions to the field of academic advising. Criteria for the Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year award include strong interpersonal skills, frequent contact with advisees, a caring attitude toward students, and participation in advisor development programs.

Galbraith has worked in the First-Year Engineering program since 2015. Her nomination packet noted that Galbraith makes a great effort to be available to her advisees, quickly responding to communications and meeting requests. When new student orientation changed from in-person to virtual, Galbraith virtually met with over 150 students one-on-one during the summer of 2021. Although the format increased her workload greatly, each student was afforded personalized care and attention. Notably, she "approaches every student interaction as an opportunity to see the student's strengths, not failures. Any time I meet with a student who has been advised by her, I hear how well she has cared for and listened to them."

In her own words about advising and working with students:

What do you like best about working with students?

I work with freshmen engineering students. I love seeing how these young individuals are so full of potential and how my interaction with each student is unique. Some students I meet already have a long-term goal in mind (and ready to make the world a better place for all of us) and some have no clue what they want out of their education. The individual interactions I have with the diverse group of students makes my work interesting and meaningful. 

What is something working with students has taught you about being an instructor or advisor?

I learned that I cannot achieve the level of connection I want with every student, but I can always try by letting students know that I am available to listen, teach, or give advice when they need me. 

Any words of advice or helpful tips for other advisors on this campus?

We have so many wonderful advisors in my FEP team and on this campus! I know most advisors are crunched on time to get the necessary information to the students regarding academics, I acknowledge this limitation while giving the following tip: When possible, I would suggest asking the students one or two powerful questions to help them increase their self-awareness and then provide them the space to share. Sometimes, students need to clarify what they really want so that they can design actions to achieve that goal.