NACADA Honors Hertzler’s Commitment to Academic Success Advising

WARRENSBURG, MO – Demonstrating her outstanding commitment to keeping students on track toward graduation, Hannah Hertzler has received the 2023 National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Region 7 Excellence in Advising – New Advisor Award. The presentation took place during NACADA’s annual regional conference Feb. 27-March 1, in Oklahoma City.

NACADA’s New Advisor Awards are presented to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding work in academic advising. They must be a professional advisor or a faculty member who has an advising role for a period of three or fewer years.

Hertzler is a UCM alumna who has served since June 2021 as an Academic Success Advisor in Success Advising, which nominated her for the award. In this this role, she advises 200 to 250 traditional and non-traditional students who are majoring in Education and English. Her responsibilities include aiding students academically, including helping them to enroll in courses each semester, creating graduation plans, and reviewing academic progress. She is also an instructor for the University Foundations and Exploring Majors and Careers courses, and collaborates with student workers who serve as Academic Success Coaches in support of other students.

“The best part of my job as an advisor is getting to know students personally as well. We focus a lot on providing Holistic Advising to all of our students which includes getting to know them outside of academics and learning about their hopes, dreams and goals,” Hertzler said. “Watching my students reach their goals and succeed while at UCM is so rewarding as an advisor.”

While she works with a large number of students, Hertzler seeks to engage with each of them in at least three one-on-one meetings per semester while providing academic support. She strives to connect students with the resources they need to succeed at the university, and is also one of the first individuals with whom transfer students connect when they come to UCM. A testament to her dedication to helping students succeed and persist within the higher education pipeline, as of August 2022, 84 percent of the new freshmen with whom she worked, and who began their education at UCM in fall 2021, were retained. Ninety percent of her transfer students who came to the university that same fall also were retained.

The nomination letter for Hertzler stated that she has earned recognition from numerous staff, faculty, and students for her positive contributions to UCM.

“It is clear she values education as she continues to push herself to learn new advising strategies, the purpose behind our policies, and the needs of her specific students,” the Student Success nominators noted in heir letter of support. They added that Hertzler “sits with each student for as long as possible to answer their questions, research what she does not readily know, and helps them plan for their future. She truly loves working with students and has never been afraid to try new ways to connect them.”

Hertzler’s colleagues also praised her utilization of many skills including optimism, patience, coaching, and active learning to get to know students as unique individuals. They added that Hertzler “displays the perfect balance of her caring, empathetic and compassionate self, with the exacting and detail-oriented, laser-like precision needed for error free student matriculation.”

Before becoming an Academic Success Advisor, Hertzler was an Academic Success Coach, Programming and Operations Graduate Assistant in the Elliott Student Union, and a Career Peer Advisor and Career Services Teaching Assistant. She also gained experience in the Admissions Office as a student
ambassador and orientation leader while working on her undergraduate degree.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Development in May 2020, the same time she was honored as the recipient of the Charno Award, a designation given to the top female and male citizens of the graduating class. Furthering her education at UCM, Hertzler went on to earn a Master of Science in College Student Personnel Administration in May 2022. In July 2022, she successfully became a Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Certified Administrator, a credential that she uses to help conduct student assessments.

“In 2016, I came to UCM for the open options program and it brought me more than I ever would have expected. As an undecided freshman I needed a lot of guidance and support during my first year,” Hertzler said.

 

“It's crazy to think about how it has all come full circle for me. Six years ago I never would have guessed I would get the opportunity to support students the way that I was supported during my time here as a student at UCM.”

Commenting on her most recent accolades, she noted, “For me, this award means that in only this short amount of time that I have been an advisor I am already making a difference in students' lives here at UCM. Watching my students succeed at what they are passionate about is one of the biggest reasons why I love my job. To know that I played a role in their success and encouraged them every step of the way is extremely rewarding.”

After winning the NACADA Regional New Advisor Award, Hertzler is being nominated for NACADA’s Global Outstanding New Advisor Award. The winner of this award will be recognized in Orlando, Florida, in October 2023.