SEBS Office of Academic Program staff at the 2025 Student Success Conference. L-R: Mallory Kolar, Daria Gonzalez, Lin Williams and Moriah Nester-Watt. Photo credit: Elizabeth Halsall, OPOC.
The Office of Academic Programs (OAP) at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) has won the Team/Office Student Success Champion Award for 2025 for their unwavering commitment to transforming the student experience. The team was recognized at the 2025 Student Success Conference on March 6 at the Livingston Student Center. During the conference, OAP staff Daria Gonzalez, Mallory Kolar and Mya Nester-Watt, and Office of Public Outreach and Communication staff member, Elizabeth Halsall, presented a well-attended session about the team’s innovative programming to increase student engagement with advisors, titled, “Programming Beyond Registration: Engaging Students with Advisors.”
In announcing the award, the 2025 Rutgers Student Success Conference committee said, “Whether through creating high-impact learning opportunities, supporting on-time graduation, reducing student debt, or developing programs that enhance student well-being, the SEBS Office of Academic Programs’ work exemplifies the mission and priorities of our university.”
Ann Gould, dean of OAP, stressed the team approach while she applauded “the innovative ways that this team champions holistic well-being and student success.”
“All members of the team, deans, advisors, support staff, actively engage in student initiatives and work to ensure student success. It is the culture of the department and worthy of acknowledgement as a contributing factor in SEBS students’ success,” she added.
SEBS Office of Academic Programs team members pictured in front of Martin Hall, OAP’s home of the George H. Cook campus. Photo credit: Chris Gutierrez, OPOC.
OAP team members include Carol Andrew, Caroline Coogan, Daria Gonzalez, Mallory Kolar, Kristen Lester, Kayla Miller, Matthew Murphy, Mya Nester-Watt, Gary Panetta, Sharice Richardson, Serafina Smith, Suzanne Sukhdeo, Julie Traxler, Romal Vaidya, Joseph Ventola, Lin Williams and Meagan Wolff.
This award-winning OAP team has developed a number of initiatives that create a supportive and transformative learning environment for student success at SEBS.
Among them is the cultivation of a community of advisors to support students in creating academic plans and making progress to on-time graduation. This community of advisors is exemplified in a first-year advising team who are dedicated advisors assigned to all new SEBS students.
One of the signature high-impact learning opportunities of the OAP team has been the Academic Mentoring course, offered each fall semester to first-generation, first-year students. This 1-credit class, taught on a volunteer basis by OAP advisors and SEBS faculty, supports the large number of SEBS students who are the first generation in their family to attend college.
To assist students with academic readiness as well as belonging in the community, the team created the SEBS Academic and Career Extravaganza (ACE), a large community program now in its third year that encourages students in major choosing, internship planning, and connecting with faculty and student clubs and activities.
In addition, programming for juniors and seniors has expanded and now includes partnership with the Cook Campus Alumni Association for a networking series as well as additional graduation celebrations. Also, an ongoing “De-stress with the Deans” monthly program invites all SEBS students for food, crafts and conversation to connect with advisors.
