By Caroline Barnhill
After moving to North Carolina with her family in 2017, Alissa Dodds began a temp position in Poole College’s office of undergraduate programs. Soon after, her role became permanent. Today, after nearly four years of advising undergraduate students in the college, Dodds serves as the assistant director of academic advising and student affairs for the Jenkins MBA program.
In her current position, Dodds works with professional (part-time and online) MBA students to set and achieve their academic goals, ensure academic progress, navigate policies and procedures and overall ensure they get the most out of their time in the program.
Q&A with Alissa Dodds
What is a project in your current role that you are particularly proud of?
Serving as team lead for the Poole College Hooding Ceremony in May. Candise Lewis provided excellent leadership in ensuring a great event and I had a great group helping on the team. I like behind-the-scenes, logistics work in hopes of relieving the stress and anxiety of our students so they can truly celebrate and be celebrated.
I like behind-the-scenes, logistics work in hopes of relieving the stress and anxiety of our students so they can truly celebrate and be celebrated.
What’s the most memorable Poole College event you have attended?
There’s not one event in particular. Graduation celebrations are my favorite events in higher education because they’re the culmination of the students’ hard work – and a time to reflect, a time of excitement for the future and a time for change. Plus, it’s nice to see another side of my students with their families and friends there to cheer them on.
Why do you love being a part of Poole?
The college is growing and changing so quickly, which keeps things exciting. I have also been fortunate enough to work on really fantastic teams within the college – groups that encourage people to be themselves, welcome innovation and have a high level of trust. Plus, these people make work fun! I also love the nature of working with students. There is a huge variety in what I do and what each day is like. I never know what a student might ask me on any given day. It keeps me on my toes knowing there’s always something new to learn.
Tell us more about your life outside of Poole College.
Outside of Poole College, I spend most of my time with my family – my husband, children and dog. A good day for me is one that involves laughing, relaxing, some type of physical activity and time to think. I really leaned into healthy coping mechanisms during the pandemic, such as working out and meditating. I live in a great neighborhood with sidewalks and a greenway so there are lots of places where I can go outside and explore.
My Poole colleagues might not know…
In 2021, I finished 25 audiobooks! I started doing more walking and running and found I enjoyed having something to listen to. I mostly listen to nonfiction but I do vary the genre. The longest book I listened to was Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” – which was 16 hours long. My favorite book was “Humankind” by Rutger Bregman. There were some really good takeaways from the book and the author did a great job of putting current events into perspective. I highly recommend it.
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