The Department of Animal Science advisors received the University Advisors and Counselors Advising Team Award at their annual breakfast in May. The award aims to recognize the advising team which has made notable and outstanding contributions towards student advising. The contributions can be through an advising team’s support of advisor professional development, enhancement of communication methods between advisors, advisor training, and development of programs.
The team’s nominator writes “I rely on competent and creative advisors to help us in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences achieve our academic mission… and the Department of Animal Science advising team in particular goes the extra mile to help their students succeed… I continuously hear praise from Animal Science students about how their advisors work daily for each student’s best interest.” Their associate department head notes that “the dedication and effectiveness of our academic advising team is always identified in unsolicited comments as one of the top strengths of our Department.”
“Academic advising is a field which requires dedication, compassion, and sincerity and is also a field that can be an emotional roller coaster. The advisors in the Department of Animal Science have proved that if you stay on that roller coaster, it is a ride that can be incredibly rewarding. They work together to ensure that they are accommodating to their advisees and make each individual student they come across feel as though they are their biggest cheerleader.”
The Animal Science advisors are dedicated not only to their students but also the profession, engaging in academic advising research and presenting at numerous conferences in addition to serving on countless UAC committees and in executive board positions. Donna, Amber, Jennifer, and Dr. Frenzel, thank you for your service to your students and the advising community.
In addition to the team award, Dr. Leslie Frenzel is the 2016 recipient of the Margaret Annette Peters Advising Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize those faculty and administrators who embody the spirit of caring, compassion, and genuine concern and welfare of individual students.
One of her nominators writes, “Dr. Frenzel’s compassion and devotion towards her student is incomparable….she embodies the spirit of caring in all that she does.” Another states, “One of the greatest evidences of her passion is the significant number of students who decide to change their major to Animal Science after enrolling in Dr. Frenzel’s Introduction to Animal Science course.” All of her nominators noted Dr. Frenzel’s dedication to meeting students where they are, whether or not that occurred during the work day or even in the office. One student submitted a photo of Dr. Frenzel advising students on the lawn outside Kleberg during a gas leak evacuation and another of her suited up in a frock and safety hat in the meats lab after hours, planning schedules with sharpie markers on butcher paper because that was the only time the student could meet. This theme of serving students wherever and whenever they need her was consistent throughout her letters of support.
Dr. Frenzel, thank you for your continued work and commitment to helping students reach their full potential and developing the future animal scientists of tomorrow.
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For more information regarding news from the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, please contact Maggie Tucker at maggie.tucker@tamu.edu or (979) 845-1542.