Advising Corps makes mark at UNC

Aug 7, 2008 By Daniel Goldberg: The Herald-Sun

CHAPEL HILL -- Autumn Clark is the first person in her family to attend college.

When she was in high school in Martinsville, Va., college seemed like a long shot. Paulin Cheatham, an adviser from the University of Virginia, helped her sort through the "very new and very scary" maze of applications, financial aid forms and school options -- a process that landed Clark at UNC, where she is a sophomore.

"I have loved every single moment of being at Carolina," Clark said Wednesday, speaking at a lunch for advisers-in-training participating in the National College Advising Corps. "It was the perfect match for me."

National College Advising Corps founder and executive director Nicole Hurd gets misty-eyed when she talks about Clark. Before coming to UNC, Hurd, a doctor of religious studies, met students who wanted to work in public service for a few years before attending graduate school, but weren't sure where to start. The National College Advising Corps, based on a similar program that Hurd worked with at UVA, is an answer to that dilemma, matching applicants from 12 participating universities around the country with selected high schools.

The corps, which is based in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC, is dedicated to increasing the number of low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students entering and completing higher education. "This is the kind of person that we're trying to help," Hurd told the 132 advisers at the Carolina Club when she introduced Clark. Those recent graduates from schools that include the University of Alabama, Pennsylvania State University, Brown University and Loyola College in Maryland will leave town today after spending four days learning how to connect more people like Clark with a college degree.
UNC's chapter, the Carolina College Advising Corps, is expanding significantly this fall, from four advisers serving eight schools to 19 advisers and 38 participating schools. At the national level, at least one additional school -- the University of Georgia -- has signed on to be part of the national corps, but has not yet trained advisers.

Hurd sees the corps as another option for service-oriented men and women who might otherwise work in a distant city as part of Teach for America or similar programs. Students that participate in the corps program have an opportunity to give back in the same state where they receive their education.

The application process for the Carolina College Advising Corps is similar to the medical school matching system. After finalists are identified through applications, essays and references, they are invited to meet with representatives from participating high schools. Both parties submit their assignment preferences and selected advisers spend the next year splitting time working with full-time high school advisers and students at two geographically close high schools.

National College Advising Corps participants work with full-time high school advisers and often introduce creative approaches in the effort to connect with public school students. One corps adviser heard from several students who thought they didn't know anyone who went to college, so the adviser posted the alma mater of each teacher in their assigned classroom.

Participating schools in the Triangle include Hillside High and Southern High in Durham and Chatham County High and Jordan-Matthews High in Chatham County. Advisers are limited to two years in the program. Hurd said her experience at UVA showed that many alumni of the program pursue graduate school, medical school or careers as professional advisers.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, the keynote speaker Wednesday, applauded the advisers for their service. He noted the link between the mission of the National College Advising Corps and UNC's own efforts to broaden access to higher education, telling the advisers that their work is as important as any related efforts within the ranks of the academic administration.

"Of all the things that you could be doing in the world, the fact that you chose to spend your time doing this is an inspiration to all of us," Thorp said.

© 2008 by The Durham Herald Company. All rights reserved.