Growing People: Connection-Centered Advising That Builds Trust and Long-Term Student Success

A Chinese proverb reminds us: “If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain; ten years, grow trees; but if you want 100 years of prosperity—grow people.” Advising is, at its heart, the work of growing people. In a time when students increasingly interact through screens, automated systems, learning platforms, and technology-driven processes, the need for genuine human connection has never been greater. Many students arrive feeling unseen, overwhelmed, or unsure of where to turn in an environment saturated with digital noise. Advisors have the unique opportunity to cut through that noise and create moments of clarity, care, and trust that promote long-term growth. This session will explore why connection-centered advising matters more today than ever and how relational work directly influences student success, belonging, and resilience. Participants will learn practical, research-backed strategies for building trust across advising modalities—whether through in-person conversations, email exchanges, or virtual appointments. We will also discuss how to use technology as a tool without allowing it to overshadow the human elements students rely on. Attendees will leave with concrete, easy-to-implement practices that make big impacts through small, intentional interactions and help advisors continue the essential work of “growing people.”

Presented by: Tim Howley

Guiding Students to Work-Based Learning Experiences

Ways to WBLE: Why and How to Help Students Navigate their Options for Gaining Skills-Based Competencies Before Graduation This session will present an overview of the entire WBLE initiative at JMU and walk advisors through the various options for students to participate. We'll cover why work-based learning is important, share options and pros and cons for WBLEs that are: paid or unpaid, for-credit and not-for-credit, in-person or virtual. It will explain our mechanisms for collecting and reporting data and how advisors can play a vital role in building and enhancing this highly popular and effective initiative.

Presented by: Anna Maria Johnson

Leading Authentically from Where You Are

Leadership in advising is not always about titles or hierarchy, but how we show up for others through our everyday interactions. This session invites advisors at all levels to explore how their personal and professional values shape ethical decision-making and influence the advising environment. Grounded in authentic and ethical leadership, the session will help participants identify and articulate their own leadership values and consider how those values guide their choices, relationships, and impact. Through reflection and discussion, participants will leave with greater clarity about their leadership identity and practical strategies to lead with integrity, empathy, and purpose, regardless of their role or position.

Presented by: Danielle Maxham and Amelia Underwood

Care and Well-being in Advising

This session, facilitated by members of the Center for Faculty Innovation’s Well-being Area, seeks to create conversation about the importance of care in advising—for our advisees and for ourselves. As a helping profession, teaching and advising often draw people willing to self-sacrifice for the sake of students. That messaging is often reinforced by pressures such as the demand to be endlessly available and responsive; working conditions that undermine well-being; and rapidly changing higher education contexts. Likewise, our students are facing pressures and circumstances that undermine their own well-being. We must prioritize both advisee and advisor well-being, center care in our relationships and work cultures, and ultimately advocate for a more caring community for all. Advocating for ourselves is advocating for the important work of advising. This session explores actionable ideas and resources for building communities of care around advising.

Presented by: Daisy Breneman, Joseph LeBlanc, and Eric Magnum

Putting Strategies to Overcome Barriers for Success into Practice

Thinking about our advising practices and aligned with NACADA’s best practices, we will share anecdotal experiences, barriers to completion for students, practitioner-based strategies that advising administrators can implement to provide supports, and strategies that advising practitioners can utilize to support advisee success. Facilitated discussions will help participants consider barriers and solutions specific to their own settings.

Presented by: Dara Hall, Hannah Smith, and Terri Yoder

Athletic Academic Advising 101

Our goal is to inform fellow advisors on how Student-Athlete Services supports Student-Athletes to help attain graduation and maintain NCAA eligibility. This would include discussing the eligibility requirements, sharing the services we provide student-athletes, explaining some of the constraints we manage as athletic advisors, and how we hope to work with campus partners to help our student-athletes succeed at JMU.

Presented by: CJ Roth, Jake Van Roekel, and Steve Henderson

The Power of Interactions in Peer Advising: A Student Panel Discussion

In this session, participants will gain insights from JMU Madison Advising Peers about their advising interactions with other students. The MAPs will share the topics and challenges most commonly worked through in the peer advising setting and ways they accomplish positive interactions with advisees. The session will offer an opportunity for an interactive Q&A segment, allowing participants to address specific questions about the peer advising experience. By the end of the session, advisors will explore practical ways to enhance their advising practices and to encourage the use of peer advising resources, fostering a more inclusive and supportive advising environment for a diverse student body.

Presented by: Student Panel

The “Don’t Read the Book!” Book Club Experience: A Low-Pressure Model for Advisor Learning and Community 

Looking for an easy, low-pressure way to stay connected with colleagues and engage in meaningful professional dialogue? This interactive session offers a live sample of the ARC Network’s “Don’t Read the Book!” Book Club. This initiative is designed for busy advisors, advising partners, faculty, and anyone working directly with students who values professional reading but may not always have the time to complete it in advance. Participants will experience the club’s signature discussion format facilitated by a rotating “reader leader.” While pre-reading is always welcome and enriches conversation, only the leader is expected to have read the selected material. Everyone else is invited to listen, respond, inquire, and reflect in real time. The session recreates the book club’s welcoming environment that supports both active engagement and comfortable “lurking and learning.” Join us to experience the format, meet colleagues who participate in the club, and learn how to sign up for future Don’t Read the Book! Book Club meetings. Whether you want to read and lead, or simply drop in and learn, you are warmly invited to be part of this ongoing, community-building experience.

Presented by: Amy Strunk and Katie Fisher

Departmental Identity through Centralized Advising 

As colleges move toward centralized advising models, departments often face the challenge of maintaining their distinct identity and student connections. This session examines how the World Languages and Cultures Department strengthens its departmental identity through collaboration with centralized advising while leveraging the classroom as a key site for student engagement and recruitment. Drawing on our dual roles as advisors and faculty, we will share how departmental advising can complement institutional structures to support student success, promote language study, and highlight the value of global learning. Participants will explore strategies for balancing centralized processes with departmental priorities, building partnerships across advising units, and using teaching spaces to foster advising relationships.

Presented by: Melanie Munier and David Campora