#NISODProfiles – Lizz Gardner
“I’m inspired, daily, by the grit and persistence my students display.”
How long have you been a college advisor?
I have been in my role for five years.
What is the most rewarding part about being a staff member at a community college?
As an advisor, I’m able to work with students through their entire student experience at Malcolm X College–and I’m inspired, daily, by the grit and persistence my students display. We strategize and celebrate successes together as we plan for transfer to a prestigious university or acceptance into a competitive healthcare program, a sense of partnership that can lead to transforming the quality of students’ lives immensely.
What is your best piece of advice for new or existing colleagues at community or technical colleges in your field?
Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.” As advisors, we are constantly learning and growing, like our students. If you don’t know the answer, go and find it!
How do you connect with your students?
I connect with my students by always meeting them where they are. I make their goals my goals.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
Because of the institution I serve, I’d love to pick the brain of Malcolm X: to ask him what drove him to want an education, to discover the opinions he has on the current state of human rights, and to learn what he thinks about having a community college named after him.
Every month, NISOD profiles faculty and staff from our member colleges who are doing extraordinary work on their campuses. #NISODProfiles offer a direct connection to your colleagues from across the world who exemplify NISOD’s mission of improving teaching, learning, and leadership.