Academic Advisor Suzzie Schweigert vows to ‘pay it forward’
By: Eve Cohen, Staff Photographer
While stepping into the Advising Office on the second floor of Clark Hall, it’s likely students are greeted by Suzzie Schweigert. A petite woman with red-auburn hair and expressive hazel eyes, Schweigert exudes a combination of optimism and a let’s get-down-to-business attitude in her role as an academic adviser.
She has an infectious optimism that is reflected in the open décor of her office. The air and light welcomes visitors, courtesy of the windows that span one wall. Incidentally, the view provides a brief respite for other colleagues in her department.
“When it’s raining, they’ll come and stand at the door-way and look out the window,” she said. Two bright, enlarged prints hang on a wall adjacent to her desk: photographs of tulips taken at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
The office overlooks the Meramec campus. A water tower rises up past the buildings and tall trees in the distance. She recalls the whole undertaking.
The tower was just constructed within the last decade to replace the old one that was in a state of disrepair, some three-hundred or so feet away. She said she is interested in what is going on in and around the campus.
“If I wasn’t doing this “I would probably be doing something in the creative field,’” she said while reflecting upon her interest in design. Her path to academic advising was not always clear, she said. A first generation student, Schweigert comes from a supportive family, from a town so small, “it didn’t even have a stop-light.” She said she was encouraged early on by a high-school counselor who made such a positive impression in her life that she wanted to pursue the career herself. Subsequently, she attended Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri – four hours away from her small town roots in Pacific.
At Truman State, a public liberal arts and sciences university close to the northern border of Missouri and Iowa, she minored in sociology, expanded her world view, made life-long friendships and found her niche, she said.
Schweigert began her freshman year studying history for her education requirement, though quickly decided that was not her path. “I wanted to work with students, but wasn’t sure; not feeling the education courses.”
Things started to come together while she was simultaneously working scholarship hours at the university’s academic planning office. She worked as a junior advisor in her sophomore year.
“Students met with me prior to the Academic Advisor; I might be dating myself,” she said. “But this was prior to the internet. I was doing orientation stuff, explaining [to students] what a credit hour was, [going through] the degree checklist, prereqs, a lot of terminology. I would explain how to read the course catalog, since students could only see what courses were available at the advisor’s office. I loved it.”
After meeting with Schweigert, students would then see the academic advisor where the focus of the appointment would turn to the student’s major and appropriate course selection.
While taking a sip from a glazed blue and earth-tone ceramic mug, part of a small collection of pieces that adorns her office, crafted by one of her colleagues, Schweigert said, “I like working with students one on one. I understand sitting on the other side. Ultimately, academic decisions such as field of major are the student’s decision. I like helping them through the process, exploring choices. All these doors are in front of you. It’s exciting helping with that journey and making those decisions.”
At Meramec, Schweigert began her career at the admissions office just after graduating from the university. “It will be 23 years in November,” she said.
Many changes have transpired over the past 23 years, she said. A recent and drastic change took place last year, when the number of counselors was reduced from eight to two.
Consequently, what is more challenging in her work, she said, is the recent time cuts imposed upon advisors. One hour appointment times were cut down to half hour sessions.
“It’s a hard adjustment to not feel rushed. I’m working on pacing,” she said. It also bothers her that some students don’t see her until they are struggling. She raises her eyebrows. “Asking for help is not a failure,” she said. “Great students get the student [support] services from the very beginning; it builds a good foundation.”
Schweigert said she knows the positive impact of support. “I was fortunate to have a lot of great mentors,” she said.
She credits her family and several mentors and colleagues who provided guidance throughout her career, starting with her grandmother, whom she reveals, “will be turning 95 in two weeks.”
It’s her grandmother’s buoyancy, independence and youthful open-mindedness that Schweigert admires, she said. “I’ve had a lot of great colleagues, too,” said Schweigert. The former Academic Dean at Meramec, Jean Campbell, communicated the professional qualities necessary for success. “She was very fair, detail-oriented, very professional, but not stern or cold. She knew how to strike that balance.”
In addition, her first supervisor, Jewel Jacobs, had, “great people skills, knew how to talk to students, give them information, like what courses to take, and had that human touch,” said Schweigert.
Moving forward, Schweigert said she is looking forward to the positive changes coming to the Meramec campus.
She said she is animated by her clients’ latest achievements and feels fortunate that she has had a lot of support throughout her life. “It’s exciting. I like seeing students meeting their goals. Success doesn’t have to be graduating. Giving someone the confidence to move toward their goal is rewarding. I feel like, I had that and I’m always indebted to the folks that were cheering for me. I feel like I’ve had a lot of support, I want to, you know, pay it forward.”
