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Greenlee School will miss Deisinger
By Lori Runkle
Greenlee Web Team
Maureen Deisinger’s last official day at the Greenlee School Advising Center was Oct. 7. The academic adviser, who recently accepted a position at ISU’s Study Abroad Center, offers some parting advice to students.
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Photo by Lori Runkle, Greenlee Web Team
Greenlee Advising Center secretary Deb Nugent visits Maureen Deisinger in her office during one of her last days as an academic adviser. After 11 years at the Greenlee School, Deisinger has accepted a position at Iowa State's Study Abroad Center. Deisinger's last day was Oct. 7, but she will be working Wednesdays through Nov. 16 to help train new employees and assist students.
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“I would say it is really important for students to take ownership of their own curriculum plans,” she said. “Ask questions. Be proactive about knowing what classes to take next. Read the university catalog and step up to the plate” to plan your educational future.
Deisinger, who has been working as an academic adviser in the Greenlee School since 1994, said her greatest high was making students feel more confident and informed about their academic plans.
“A student comes into my office scattered, but after 30 minutes of laying out the options, I hear a big sigh of relief.”
School Director Michael Bugeja said, “It’s a great loss to the Greenlee School, but this is something that she has wanted to do for quite awhile.”
Faculty members will be honoring Deisinger after their Oct. 7 meeting.
Deisinger compares herself to a shepherd. If students are sheep, she tries to herd them in the general direction that will lead them to their goals.
“Some [students] jump off the cliff, and some stay in the herd without looking right or left. I hope that students graze in many different areas of the pasture,” she commented, referring to the numerous opportunities for personal and academic growth at Iowa State.
“I expect they will take their own unique path, but I help them draw possible paths to consider.”
Although Deisinger will miss the students and faculty in Hamilton Hall, “It’s funny how many freshmen I’ve talked to who want to study abroad. Come on over!”
Deisinger studied abroad in England when she was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin at Steven's Point in 1988. This experience influenced her so profoundly that today she promotes study abroad programs because they are “so in line with my personal value system and personal passion. During the interview [for the Study Abroad Center position], I even got choked up remembering my own experiences.”
Studying in London taught Deisinger to look critically at herself from outside her own cultural confines.
“I met a German man at the Tower of London, and he asked me if I carried a gun to class. That experience made me think about how other people view us” based upon the programs they see on American television.
Desinger also remembers the realization that her parents were very far away, and that they had no idea of where she was or what she was doing at that particular moment. She was on her own learning about a new culture and it was exciting.
In her new job, Deisinger will be working with the Iowa Regents Semester Programs in the English-speaking countries of Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.
Travel is built into the job. When she does visit the campuses, she will meet with the program coordinators and work with them on issues such as housing and syllabi.
“I’ll be working on things like finding safe housing with Internet access. Our students expect a lot … more channels on the TV and more electrical outlets that work,” she said.
In addition to housing questions, she will be responsible for determining if students are happy with their professors and if the courses are transferable.
Even after Oct. 7, Deisinger will return to her Hamilton Hall office to work with students who want to see her.
“I’ll miss the students, Deb [Nugent] and the professors. I’m glad I got to know the students in such depth.”
Bugeja said a search to hire two academic advisers is currently underway.
“We already have a good pool of candidates who care about students and have a journalism background in a few cases. It’s my hope that anyone who comes into our advising office shares the same love of students that Maureen Deisinger has shown,” he said.
The new faces in the advising office belong to Adam Kuban and Lindsay Phillips. Kuban, a graduate assistant, is a recent journalism and mass communication graduate.
Phillips, who is a temporary emergency hire, has an advertising degree and her master’s degree in journalism and mass communication, both from the Greenlee School.
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Last updated: October 12, 2005
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