Me, holding my award. Photo courtesy of J. Camp.

Sooo… I confess. I didn’t really win an Academy Award, but I totally feel like I did!

Back in May, I was voted Outstanding New Advisor for the 2016-2017 academic year.

And it was such a surprise that I know I did several Oscar-worthy double takes. When my name was announced, I wanted to run up to the podium, ugly cry, and give a spontaneous acceptance speech wherein I thanked God, my mom, my coworkers, and my friends. (But I didn’t because, you know, it wasn’t really the Oscars.)

What really made me want to ugly cry is that all of the nominations came from students. They wrote the sweetest, most generous things about me.

Here is one of my favorites:

She truly has her students’ best interests at heart and I can tell that she cares deeply about the success of the students she works with. .  It’s hard to find someone that possesses the qualities that Wylijanna has…

I mean… come on, man! How am I supposed to hold it together with a comment like that?!

Here’s another one that I love:

Ms. Cole has encouraged me from the beginning, and any time I need something she is the person I turn to.  She works hard for all her students, but I believe she has gone above and beyond for me.

Whenever I’m having a rough time at work (as we do, especially during summer orientation season), I reread the comments for motivation.