蜜桃APP

Session

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Building a Comprehensive Academic Support Landscape: Insights from CAS and CCACSA

Dorothy Kemp, Ph.D., Director of Educational Support Services, Academic Center for Student-Athletes

Brad Jones, Assistant Director of Student Support Services, Academic Center for Student-Athletes

Nicole Walker, Assistant Director of Outreach & Engagement, Center for Academic Success

Shayla Tran, Senior Learning Specialist of Outreach & Engagement, Center for Academic Success

This session highlights how 蜜桃APP鈥檚 Center for Academic Success (CAS) and Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes (CCACSA) support student success through distinct yet complementary models. CAS provides broad, research-based learning strategies and peer tutoring for the general student population, while CCACSA delivers intrusive, highly individualized support for student-athletes. Presenters will outline how each model operates and where they differ. The session will also explore how departments can leverage existing tools and support structures to respond to student needs in intentional ways while complementing centralized services.

Building Career-Ready Students Through Involvement

Briana McManus, Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Involvement, Campus Life

Alyson Hewson, Senior Career Coach - College of HSS, Career Center

Student involvement is more than a r茅sum茅 line. It is a powerful driver of belonging, skill development, and career readiness. Yet only about half of 蜜桃APP students participate in involvement or experiential opportunities. This session highlights a growing collaboration between Campus Life and the Career Center to help students recognize involvement as a pathway to future success. We will explore how Ready to Roar proficiencies are embedded into leadership, involvement, and civic engagement programs, discuss common barriers to engagement, and share practical strategies faculty and staff can use to guide students. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for partnering across campus to increase student engagement and readiness. 

Culture is the Playbook: Designing the X鈥檚 and O鈥檚 of High-Performing Teams in Online Education to Support Student Success

Courtney Kirschner -  Executive Director of Online Recruitment and Retention, 蜜桃APP Online

Alisha Carroll - Assistant Director of Online Student Support and Retention, 蜜桃APP Online

Kaitlin Steib - Online Retention Manager, 蜜桃APP Online

Just like a winning football program relies on a shared playbook, student success for online and on-campus education depends on high-performing, aligned teams. This session explores how 蜜桃APP Online built a culture-driven strategy that empowers staff, strengthens collaboration across remote and campus-based teams, and directly improves the student experience. Participants will learn how intentional culture, clear expectations, and shared accountability translate into stronger engagement, persistence, and outcomes for students, proving that when teams perform at their best, students win too.

Harnessing the Power of Our Existing Institutional Data

Rebecca Burdette, Director, Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC)

Ashley Clayton, Associate Professor, School of Education

Twenty years ago, 蜜桃APP established its Communication across the Curriculum (CxC) program with the mission of advancing the communication skills of 蜜桃APP students. Today, communication skills remain essential to students鈥� success in and out of the classroom. In this session, we will share our pragmatic framework for using existing institutional data to understand the influence of C-I Courses on retention and graduation rates. Participants will brainstorm how they might leverage campus collaborations and use existing data to study the impact of their own programs on student success.

The AI-Augmented Practitioner: Scaling Student Support Without Losing the Human Touch

Peter Trentacoste Executive Director, Residential Life

As student caseloads and administrative demands grow, Student Affairs professionals must find ways to reclaim time for high-impact human connection. This session explores AI not as a replacement, but as a "force multiplier" to scale student support.
We will examine AI through two lenses: Micro (decoding policies, creating empathetic outreach, and summarizing notes) and Macro (synthesizing feedback and designing retention campaigns). Moving beyond the basics, we focus on actionable workflows and current tools. Attendees will leave with a concrete toolkit of prompts and platforms to streamline operations and prioritize what matters most: student success and belonging.

Student Success through Strengths: The Graduate Student Leadership Initiative

Dr. Missy Korduner, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, School of Leadership & Human Resource Development

Dr. Kristen Williams, Director of Graduate Student Success, Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School

Tyler Flynn, Program Manager of Graduate Student Success, Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School

Building a sense of community and belonging is crucial to student success, retention, and graduation. The Graduate Student Leadership Initiative (GSLI) is a semester-long, strengths-based program designed to support graduate students鈥� academic, professional, and personal development. Grounded in strengths-based leadership principles, GSLI helps students identify, develop, and apply their innate talents through a 2.5-day interactive leadership conference, leadership development plan, individual coaching session, follow-up workshop, and closing ceremony. This session provides an overview of program design, learning outcomes, and assessment results.

Cross-Campus Collaboration to Advance First-Generation Student Success: An Overview of the First-Gen Forward (FGF) Collaborative at 蜜桃APP

Monica N. Guient, Ph.D., Associate Vice President- Institutional Engagement & Partnership, Division of Engagement, Civil Rights & Title IX

Shauna Landry, Ed.D., Director - Student Support Services, Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success

Erwin Torres, Manager of Student Services, 蜜桃APP Olinde Career Center

Jordan Pittman, J.D., Director - Institutional Engagement & Partnership, Office of Engagement and Impact

This dynamic session spotlights 蜜桃APP鈥檚 First-Gen Forward (FGF) Collaborative, a cross-campus initiative driving first-generation student success. Participants will discover how 蜜桃APP mobilized faculty, staff, and resources to translate institutional vision into meaningful impact. Through interactive discussion and evidence-based examples, presenters share actionable frameworks for fostering collaboration, amplifying engagement, and scaling student support. Attendees will learn practical strategies to assess readiness, align efforts, and track progress toward outcomes. Leave inspired and equipped to champion cross-campus partnerships that create measurable, lasting change for first-generation scholars.

Engaging Undergraduates in Faculty-Mentored Research  

Sarah Ferstel, Director, Office of Undergraduate Research

Ella Magerl, Program Manager, Office of Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research is a high-impact experiential learning opportunity that enables 蜜桃APP students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world problems, build relationships with faculty, explore interests, and prepare for graduate study and careers. Participation also fosters connections with peers and mentors, strengthening students鈥� sense of belonging at 蜜桃APP. Research opportunities exist across all disciplines and are open to students of any major or academic stage. This presentation, led by the Office of Undergraduate Research director and program manager, will explain undergraduate research, offer guidance on how to direct students to opportunities, address barriers to participation, and highlight available OUR resources.

Helping Students Spot Skills鈥� Like a Campus Safari but Less Dangerous

Jesse Downs, Senior Director, 蜜桃APP Olinde Career Center

Mackenzie Heath, Career Coach

Career readiness isn鈥檛 an add-on at 蜜桃APP鈥攊t鈥檚 already happening across teaching, mentoring, service, and engagement. The challenge is helping students recognize it. This interactive session introduces Ready to Roar, 蜜桃APP鈥檚 career readiness framework, as a shared language for naming and reinforcing the skills students build every day. Participants will identify where career readiness already exists in their work, practice strategies to make skill development more visible, and learn how to coach students to reflect on and articulate their experiences. Attendees will leave with practical, high-impact approaches to strengthening 蜜桃APP鈥檚 career ecosystem and student success.

Improving Student-Facing Processes with Student-Centered Quality Tools

Josh Finch, Director, Campus Life 

Students navigate numerous campus processes each semester, and when those processes are unclear or inefficient, they can create avoidable barriers to student success and increase workload for faculty and staff. This session introduces practical, student-centered quality improvement tools such as journey mapping, Pareto analysis, and check sheets that individuals or teams can apply within their own areas of responsibility. Drawing on examples from 蜜桃APP, participants will see how modest operational changes can lead to clearer communication, faster service, and more consistent student experiences. Through a guided activity, attendees will map a process they are involved in and identify a realistic improvement idea they can begin testing with their teams.

Demystifying Admissions: Inside the Applicant Lifecycle

Olivia Cassin, Interim Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Gabe Sigl, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Joe 笔辞谤肠丑茅, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Join 蜜桃APP鈥檚 Office of Admissions leadership for an inside look at the applicant lifecycle. This session walks through each stage of the process from outreach and recruitment to holistic application review, admission, and enrollment while unpacking how decisions are made and how students are supported along the way. Participants will gain valuable insight into admissions practices, common misconceptions, and the strategic approach behind building a strong, well-rounded incoming class, as well as how campus partners intersect throughout the process.

Building a Championship Advising Team: Cross-Functional Collaboration and Development Through a Multi-Tiered Team Structure

Jennifer Picard, Executive Director, University College

Micah Green, Advising Manager, University College

Elizabeth Hymel, Advising Manager, University College

Madeline Sessions, Advising Manager, University College

Building a Championship Advising Team highlights how University College advising leverages a multi-tiered, cross-functional team model to support diverse student populations across the enrollment lifecycle. Using a championship basketball team analogy, this session illustrates how differentiated roles, intentional professional development, and structured collaboration build trust, cohesion, and effective outcomes. Participants will learn practical strategies, such as ongoing training, targeted meetings, and functional subteams, that align individual strengths with shared goals. Attendees will leave with a "game plan" for designing adaptable advising teams that promote collaboration, consistency, and student-centered excellence.

I Do, We Do, You Do: Training Tomorrow鈥檚 Student Leaders

Grace Heath, Tutor Coordinator, Center for Academic Success

Lauren Daigle, SI Coordinator, Center for Academic Success

Amelia Vidrine, Learning Specialist, Center for Academic Success

Student success goes beyond grades. It鈥檚 also about developing leaders who empower their peers. This session highlights the CAS Shell Tutorial Center and Promise Scholars programs as models of intentional peer leadership and structured mentorship. Attendees will explore how leadership pathways, mentor preparation, and targeted support drive academic achievement, equity, and belonging. Using CAS data, the session examines outcomes such as,  retention, self-efficacy, professionalism, and confidence. Participants will leave with practical, evidence-based strategies to strengthen mentorship and leadership development across different campus contexts.

Onboarding and Beyond: Student Employment That Builds Community

Leslie Moran, Program Director - Student Employment, 蜜桃APP Olinde Career Center

Juliana Reeves, Coordinator - Student Employment, 蜜桃APP Olinde Career Center

Intentional onboarding and supervision can turn student employment into a meaningful part of the student experience. This session focuses on how well-designed onboarding helps student employees feel supported, confident, and connected from day one. Participants will explore practical ways to set clear expectations, create supportive work environments, and build strong relationships. By investing in student employees early, departments can strengthen workplace performance while supporting students鈥� academic, professional, and overall success.

Increasing Student Engagement and Success Using Student Feedback from the 鈥淐elebrate a Teacher鈥� Campaign

Brandi Simmons, Strategic Communications & Engagement Manager, CxC

Annemarie Galeucia, Associate Director, CxC

How could you better engage with your students? Find out what resonates with them. Since Fall 2020, 蜜桃APP Communication across the Curriculum has collected over 5,000 student responses identifying effective faculty communication and connection strategies. This session examines 6 years of feedback, revealing teaching tactics from 1,600+ teachers that work across disciplines. These student-identified approaches align with national high-impact practice research and offer practical communication strategies to enhance student engagement and success. Attendees will explore proven teaching and mentoring strategies that keep 蜜桃APP students connected and on track, while workshopping their own approaches that align with course outcomes.

Supporting Adult & Non-Traditional Students

Jessica Vargas, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Admissions

Dr. Corina Caraccioli, Assistant Professor, School of Leadership & Human Resource Development

Joshua Jones, Legislative Officer - Outreach Director, 蜜桃APP Student Government

Ethan Fruge, recent 蜜桃APP graduate and military/veteran student

Adult and non-traditional students, including transfer students, parenting students, military and veteran students, and more, often have unique needs in higher education. This session will explore the main issues faced by these students and how higher education practitioners can better support their success.