Sarah Roth of the Honors Program has been honored with a Living Our Values Award.
The Living Our Values awards recognize individuals and groups that exemplify Illinois State’s core values of Learning and Scholarship, Diversity and Inclusion, Respect, Collaboration, Individualized Attention, Civic Engagement, and Integrity, as spelled out in Educate Connect Elevate: Illinois State – The Strategic Plan for Illinois’ First Public University 2018-2023. The awards celebrate the commitment to live the University’s values every day, and strengthen the campus community by sharing those values.
Joining Illinois State in 2010, Roth serves as an academic advisor for Honors. Once an undeclared honors student herself, Roth understands the impact individualized attention can have. “I know how anxious I felt about my major and career options,” said Roth, who earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Illinois State in 2008 and a master’s degree in college student personnel administration in 2018. “My ultimate goal when working with students is to help them feel comfortable with where they are in their career development, while knowing the next actionable steps they can take.”
Members of the Illinois State community cheer for Sarah Roth of the Honors Program, as she received her Living Our Values award.
Roth was nominated by two people for her passion for providing students with exceptional individualized attention and her commitment to collaboration to determine best practices for serving students.
“Working with Sarah has taught me the importance of teamwork in a way I had never experienced,” said nominator and fellow Honors Program staff member Amy Secretan. “When you work on something with Sarah—whether that’s as a student creating a four-year plan, or as one of her colleagues working together on a project—you know that you’re never going to be without her amazing support and compassion.
During her time at Illinois State, Roth has served on the campus-wide Academic Advising Council and the Advisor Professional Development & Training (PDT) Committee. She currently serves on the Academics and Career Council as well as the Advisor Onboarding committee, where she is a mentor to new academic advisors. “Being involved in the advising community is important to Sarah,” said Assistant Director of the Honors Program Christie Martin. “She values learning from others and being able to pass that knowledge on to her students.”
Roth said she feels fortunate to work at Illinois State. “One of the reasons is the incredible community of faculty and staff here,” she said. “I believe we have students’ best interests at heart and we work incredibly hard to help them be successful at ISU and beyond.”
Nominees for the Living Our Values awards can be any current Illinois State student, faculty, or staff member, or a group of people at Illinois State working toward a program or initiative that reflects the core values.
Nomination forms can be found on the Educate Connect Elevate: Illinois State website.
