Michelle Ko: New SEAS Advisor

by Owen Tran

Ko attended the University of California, Irvine, and majored in Social Ecology with a double emphasis in Criminology, Law & Society and Psychology & Social Behavior, and minored in Comparative Cultures. Moving to New York, she earned her Masters of Arts in Student Personnel Administration in Higher Education at Columbia University Teachers College. Last year, she served as the Coordinator for Academic Support Services in the SEAS-HEOP Office. Ko was also the Cultural Director for the HEOP Summer Institute and, as a second generation Chinese American, has always been active in Asian/Pacific American and minority issues.

During her undergraduate days at UC-Irvine, she assumed the presidency of the Chinese Association, and was heavily involved in the Asian/ Pacific Student Association as well. Her passion and commitment to Asian and Asian American imp elled her to organize a 35-day long fast on the UC-Irvine campus, in an appeal for Asian American Studies and student services. Ko hopes to become involved with the similar organizations at Columbia as well.

On Asian Americans in Administrative Positions
"I'm interested in Asian American students, and there is a large population in the engineering school," said Ko. "I want students to be able to relate to someone. When I was an undergraduate, there were no Asian American advisors. Students were forced to engage in many meetings and protests just to have one Asian American Academic Advisor hired. I think that the administration and student support staff did not think that Asian American students had any problems or concerns, until the students pointed out the lack of sensitivity many students were facing."

"And I don't even think it even occurred to many students that having an Asian/ Pacific American student support staff, administrators, and faculty was an option...but the few APA faculty and staff on campus...soon realized that an overwhelming number of students who were seeking their support. Here at SEAS, it seems to me that the administration realized the need and benefits [of APA�s in administration] and proactively hired two APA's in the past two years, Dean Suh and myself."

"I don't want to say that only Asian Americans can advise Asian American students or that I am only interested in advising Asian American students. I am just saying that sometimes, it is nice and necessary to have someone to talk to who understands how a variety of factors -- especially cultural/ family pressures -- can affect how one is doing academically. I think it is especially beneficial with the high number of Asian American students that there are visible Asian American administrators."

Engineering -- a 'safe Asian major' ?
"When I was an undergraduate, finding academic advisors who were sensitive to the needs of the students was very difficult. I had a lot of friends who were pointed in the direction of engineering by high school counselors and parents. It is considered a safe "Asian major" and a lot of students who really wanted to be in psychology or political science did not know who to turn to for advice. Academic counselors just let them change majors and left them alone. On there own. I always felt like something needed to be done that would help facilitate the change for these students. And even for those students who were content with their majors met with relatively ambivalent advisors when they ran into problems."

"After our [UC-Irvine] protest, and after the administration agreed to hire an academic advisor sensitive to the needs of Asian American students, I ended up sitting on a search committee screening applications and interviewing applicants for an Academic Advisor position. It never really occurred to me that I would actually become someone's academic advisor."

Informed Academic Advising
"I think that a lot of students, and people in general, have a misconception of what academic advising is. A typical advisement meeting purports to be a simple �tell me what I need to do and what classes I need to take.� Period. But advising should be a lot more informed and the information given needs to be interpreted within the students' personal context. Students need the academic and occupational information integrated. And beyond informational needs, students have personal or social concerns that need to be acknowledged since these factors can distract and impede their academic progress. I want to be able to answer any questions. If I can't answer it, I will find someone that can," said Ko. "Students should feel free to email me ([email protected]), call, or just drop by."

Ko on Columbia
What does she think about Columbia University? "It's really different because I'm from a commuter campus background (UC-Irvine)," answered Ko. "UC-Irvine is a public university and Columbia is private. The history of a campus effects the attitude and programming done on the campus. The student demographics are also very different. UC-Irvine has the highest percentage of Asian/Pacific Americans on a college campus in the continental U.S.A. I think that this year's first year class had an APA population well above 60 percent."

"The student population is primarily made up of Caucasian, Asian Pacific American, Chicano (Mexican American) and African Americans and a small Native American population. Columbia is more Caucasian, Asian Pacific, Latino, and African American...it is different. Even within the APA population, there are major demographic differences [between UC-Irvine and Columbia]."

"I think that I am just interested in helping students with their ethnic/racial identity development and encouraging them to take all the opportunities that Columbia/SEAS/NYC offers them. That is my challenge to the students. Columbia has a lot to offer; you just need to be daring enough to accept it. And if students need support, then I am here."

Ko will be meeting with her advisees from October 23rd to November 17th. Instead of holding a bothersome PIN extraction mission, Ko hopes to discuss with students their entire educational experience, both inside and outside of the classroom, academic and extracurricular. Ko adds, "Many factors affect how students do...everything from roommates, friends and relationships to parents and just plain academic difficulty. I am here to assist students figure out what might be hindering them, or what things they can do to make their entire academic experience a positive and rewarding experience. And to provide them with options."