Every month the Administrative/Professional (A/P) Council highlights an A/P staff member through a series of questions as another way for the Illinois State community to connect. This month readers can get to know Hope Fine, A/P Council member, academic advisor for the Department of Chemistry and this year’s Outstanding New Advisor Award recipient.
As an academic advisor for the Department of Chemistry, what are your job responsibilities?
As the academic advisor for the Department of Chemistry, I advise chemistry and biochemistry majors with over 24 credits on course selection, registration, university policy and graduation requirements. I also help in the planning and organization of departmental events, such as Homecoming, commencement, and graduate school visitations and open houses. I am also the co-advisor for Chemistry Club.
How long have you been an employee at Illinois State?
I have been at Illinois State since July 2015. Before coming to Illinois State, I earned my Master of Education in educational leadership and policy analysis and my Master of Arts in psychology at the University of Missouri. I also interned in multiple advising offices and served as the assistant to the registrar, evaluating and processing individual requests for tuition refund appeals, late registration fees, on-campus fee waivers, GPA adjustments and grade changes.
What do you love the most about working at Illinois State?
What I love most about working at ISU is the Redbird community. Everyone is so welcoming and helpful. I appreciate all of the support that my colleagues and the students have given me during my transition to ISU.
What is one fact about yourself that might surprise other people?
I love watching reality television. I once went to an open casting call for CBS’s Big Brother!
When you’re not working, what are you most likely doing?
I enjoy volunteering in the community as a member of Bloomington-Normal Young Professional Kiwanis Club. I also enjoy the arts and theater as well as singing with ISU’s Civic Chorale.
What is your favorite spot on Illinois State’s campus?
The third floor of the Science Lab Building atrium. I like to eat lunch on the couches and peer outside the glass windows, soaking in the sun and appreciating the beauty of nature.
What would you like other A/Ps to know about A/P Council?
A/P Council is more than just a campus governing body. It provides A/Ps the opportunity to network and discuss issues and concerns that they may share in respective areas and how they can proceed together in tackling these barriers.
And just for fun, if you had a time machine, would you rather go back in time or into the future? What year would you visit and why?
Ever since reading the American Girl Doll books as a child, I connected with the story of Felicity Merriman and wanted to return to the time of the late 1700s around the time of the American Revolution. While times may appear to be much simpler, it would be interesting to experience how people confronted societal concerns that still impact us today.
