September 5, 2019
Advisor Forum presents September Charlie Award
The K-State Advisor Forum announces Sarah Howe, former advisor in journalism and mass communications, as the recipient of the September Charlie Award.
The Advisor Forum created the Charlie Award, which is named for Charlie Nutt, NACADA executive director, who has spent a large part of his career advocating and promoting the advising profession. The award is given monthly to any advisor at K-State who has made an impact on advising, done a stellar job of helping students, found a new method that makes all of our lives easier, and/or has been awesome at their job.
Several of Howe's colleagues nominated her for this award. A few reasons they mentioned include Howe's leadership on the Advisor Forum leadership team. She organized and planned the Advisor Forum's First Friday Lunch events. She put together a system of connecting advisors and helping them get to know one another outside of their offices. Connections that are made at First Friday Lunches are helping to bring the community of advising at K-State even closer.
Howe also was nominated for the work she has done as a Student Success Collaborative facilitator for the College of Arts and Sciences. Her former colleague Kylie included, "Sarah prioritizes learning the newest advising technology and software, and she is a SSC master advisor. She has the unique gift to use technology as a tool that helps students instead of reducing them to data. She is sought after from departments and colleges across campus so she can teach their advisors how to use SSC."
Finally, Howe was nominated for her care and compassion for her students. As her colleague Dan Kuester states, "I interview about 125 students a year as a part of the '6-minute meetings' I host to get to know students informally. JMC has an amazing reputation with students as having advisors who really care about their students. I recall hearing directly from at least five of Sarah's advisees of what an awesome job she does with content knowledge, but more importantly treating students as important individuals. I feel this connection is most important for student retention."
In summary, Howe has given a lot of her time to serve the advising community here on campus as well as her students. Her colleague Kathy Lillich adds, "Ms. Howe is an active leader in campus advising, whether it is through her role in the Advisor Forum, serving as an Arts and Sciences SSC facilitator, or through her work with the Kansas Academic Advising Network. She consistently volunteers her time to help other advisors learn new skills or connect with the resources they need, and is an excellent advisor to her students."
Howe started a new role on campus on Aug. 26 and is now an instructor and academic coordinator in the agronomy department. We wish her the best of luck in her new role.
To nominate someone for the Charlie Award, fill out the short online form. Once your nomination is complete, it will remain an active nomination for one full academic year. Nominations are due by the 25th of each month and can be submitted by anyone on campus. One award will be given out at the beginning of each month. The Advisor Forum Committee will make the decision and deliver awards.
Contact Beth Stuewe, Advisor Forum co-social chair, at bas9995@k-state.edu, with any questions about the award.