Julie Amon
Assistant Dean for First-Year Students
Case Western Reserve University
Undergraduate Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder

Julie Amon’s passion and dedication is evident at Case Western Reserve University.  Her efforts as assistant dean of first-year students have helped develop the first-year program into what it is today.

For the past eight years, Amon has established relationships with first-year students by setting night office hours.  She also visits with students in places they choose to help them feel more comfortable.  She also works with the Cleveland Scholarship Program to give underrepresented the opportunity to go to attend college and become successful.

Through her reliable information and guidance, Amon has gained the respect of the faculty and staff.  She is an integral part of Case Western Reserve University.

Michelle Bandla
Coordinator of the First-Year Program
SUNY Oswego
Undergraduate Institution: Dutchess County Community College

For the past nine years, Michelle Bandla has worked tirelessly to help facilitate student success at SUNY Owego.  The first-year initiatives she developed have assisted in raising the overall retention rate to 82 percent.

Bandla created several online components for first-year students to use at SUNY Oswego.  The First Choice Program is an online resource students can utilize in the summer before coming to orientation that allows them register for courses that are most meaningful to their majors.  Her creation of a social networking site also aids students in connecting with other students and identifies students at risk who may need special attention.

Bandla’s creative and innovative improvements to the first-year program connect the students before they step onto campus. They also continue to foster success as they continue throughout their undergraduate careers.

Fabania DesRosiers
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dominican College of Blauvelt
Undergraduate Institution: SUNY Binghampton

Fabania DesRosiers’s passion for first-year students is evident at Dominican College of Blauvelt.  Her initiatives aid in transforming programs provided for students in the first college year.

As a leader of the Freshman Year Program Action Committee, DesRosiers assisted in the redesign of the freshman seminar.  She brought an academic component into supporting students in making connections with their peers.  This aids them in becoming more successful students at Dominican College of Blauvelt.  She also established a common reading program to enrich first-year students’ experiences on campus.

DesRosiers’s passion and innovation in the first-year programs helps to create an environment that greatly enriches the students’ experience.

Lizabeth Doherty
College Advisor
Mohawk Valley Community College
Undergraduate Institution: Elmira College

Lizabeth Doherty has played a critical role in developing a first-year program at Mohawk Valley Community College.  Her dedication and passion to the program spreads throughout the campus. 

Doherty’s work to reinvent the orientation programs on campus made it an interactive event.  The orientation program now helps students feel more connected on their campus.  She also works as an advisor and meets the students on their level to find the best ways to help them succeed.  As an academic advisor, Doherty works to intervene on behalf of students who are struggling by using the Pathways to Academic Recovery (PAR) she created.

Through her passion and commitment to first-year students, Doherty inspires her campus to take the steps needed to achieve student success.

Rachel Duff Anderson
Director of First-Year Experience
Siena Heights University
Undergraduate Institution: Siena Heights University

Rachel Duff Anderson has been instrumental in establishing a first-year experience program at Siena Heights University.  Her vision and dedication has been beneficial in creating a first-year program that makes students feel welcome and allows them to immerse themselves in academic life.  With Anderson’s supervision and planning, Siena Heights Welcome Week has an over 90 percent attendance rate.  Anderson’s compassion for the students is also evident through the “Circle of Care” which brings faculty and staff together to communicate about students concerns and intervene before the student begins to struggle.

Anderson’s energy and vision has created a wonderful program at Siena Heights University.  She is a clear champion for first-year students.

Marsha Fralick
Professor Emeritus
Cuyamaca Community College
Undergraduate Institution: University of New Mexico

For over 30 years, Marsha Fralick has been an advocate for first-year students at Cuyamaca Community College.  Her creative initiatives are still visible on campus today.

As a founding faculty member at Cuyamaca Community College, Fralick developed the curriculum for the first-year college course that has impacted 50,000 students since 1978.  This course was the first course to be accepted as a transferrable elective to the University of California which is noted as a very high standard to achieve.  She also worked tirelessly to include career development in a first-year course.  Through her efforts, www.collegesuccess1.com was created.  It is a tremendous resource for faculty and students that are interested in career development.

Through countless presentations, publications, and programs, Fralick’s commitment to first-year students is visable to all of higher education.

Keldon Henley
Vice-President for Student Services
Ouachita Baptist University
Undergraduate Institution: Ouachita Baptist University

Keldon Henley’s leadership and wisdom has transformed the first-year experience at Ouachita Baptist University.  He is a mentor for both faculty and the students.

Henley has redesigned the freshman orientation program.  His efforts include working with all areas of the University to help students have a smooth integration into campus life.  He has also created an eight-week extended orientation program that helps students make connections with their peers and learn about the special traditions that make Ouachita unique.

The initiatives he is involved in have helped the university achieve its highest first-year retention rate in its history and exemplify his commitment to first-year student success.

Marilyn Kurata
Core Curriculum Enhancement Director
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Undergraduate Institution: Carnegie-Mellon University

Marilyn Kurata is a diligent champion of first-year students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her efforts to create a first-year experience have improved the foundations of undergraduate learning.

Kurata developed a Discussion Book Program that reinforces the University's emphasis on ethics, diversity, and civic responsibility. She has also brought consultants to campus to help the faculty and staff become more knowledgeable about freshman learning communities and other first-year experience courses. All entering freshmen are now required to take a FYE course.

Kurata's tireless efforts to bring faculty and staff together to transform the first-year experience for freshmen have made a significant impact at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Kia Kuresman
Director of New Student Programs
Goucher College
Undergraduate Institution: Ohio University

Kia Kuresman is a passionate and committed advocate for first-year students at Goucher College.  Her efforts keep the institution focused on improving the first-year experience.

Kuresman played a significant role in developing the orientation programs on campus.  She developed the leadership of the upperclassmen on the team and helped to set clear expectations for what goals need to be accomplished.  She has also redesigned the fall and January orientations to encourage engagement among the students and allow them to make connections with their peers.  These changes assist the students in making the most of their experience at Goucher College.

Kuresman’s expertise and passion she has for first-year students garners her great respect among her colleagues at Goucher College. 

Denise Rode
Director, Orientation and First-Year Connections
Northern Illinois University
Undergraduate Institution: Northern Illinois University

Denise Rode plays a foundational role in the continued improvement in the first-year experience program at Northern Illinois University.  Her dedication and commitment to the students makes a great impact on their success in the first year of college.

Rode worked tirelessly to develop the UNIV 1-1 course that helps first-year students transition to college.  Each year she continues to make updates and changes to the textbook.  She also assists in bringing awareness and support for first-year experience programs to her region.  She has worked to help develop a one day regional drive-in conference that had more than 200 people in attendance last year.

Her life-long passion toward first-year students is evident in the wonderful advancements she has made in the field.