Hutton Honors College

Richelle Lee Brown graduated from Indiana University in 1999, then came back a year later to start work on a masters in counseling and counseling education. "They can't get rid of me," she says. Now, a few years later, her graduate degree in hand, Brown pursues something other than academics. She is the newest member of the Hutton Honors College advising team.

"My position as an advisor and outreach coordinator is new," she explains. "It's a very new beginning. As the outreach coordinator, Brown tries to reach "underrepresented groups-minorities or students from small towns for instance, or anyone that may not know about the Hutton Honors College," she explains.

Brown has one goal with her new position in the Hutton Honors College. "I'd like to set up some sort of bridge program with potential students explaining what IU, and specifically the Hutton Honors College can do." Although never a member of the Honors College while she was studying at IU, Brown realizes the vast potential honors students have for success. "Honors can allow you to self- discover, to show your creativity. It helps you to take control of your education."

With Brown's arrival, the Hutton Honors College currently has three full time advisors, and two graduate assistants. "Everyone's so different (here), I love that," Brown says of the advising staff. Barbara Edwards directs the advising program. Nigel Pizzini, also a full time advisor, coordinates student programs like the HHC Community Service Program. Jan Cleaver and Nidhi Rana are the graduate assistants. Each spends a significant amount of time personally advising students.

Brown, a petite brunette with a beaming smile, says that all the advisors are extremely nice and helpful, comforting characteristics considering their significant role in students' lives. "When students come in, I try and calm them down. Things are never as life and death as they seem," she says of her advising techniques. "You have to go off what they're saying," she continues. "We are here to help."

Now in her seventh year at Indiana University, Brown loves both Bloomington and IU. "The Bloomington community is so unique. There are so many cultural events-it's like a big city with a small town feel."

Similarly, IU is a big university with many academic options. "At Hutton, we are attempting to make this big research university feel like a smaller, liberal arts community," Brown says. HHC advisors, like Brown, are a brief walk away from anywhere on campus and are always prepared to help students with their academic plans. "I know I would have liked to have heard what I tell students now when I was a student," Brown laughs. That's why her door is always comfortably open.

Elyse Heckman