Coordinator of digital design program doubles as student advisor, dishes on ups and downs of helping students detail their plans

Tamara Kelly
Staff Writer 

Adviser and digital design program coordinator Brian Martin is just one of the many advisers here at school. Taking the time to sit with a student and listen to their needs, their hopes and they’re goals is just the surface of his efforts.

Finding out how much information each student needs can also vary, from having scheduled quarterly meeting to students who only stop in to pick up their registration access code. Martin provides a class selection sheet for his students to pick up just outside his office, which is available at anytime.

For Martin there are two parts to being an adviser; the mechanical part of scheduling the right class and the counseling part, to help the student find their passion and know what works for them.

The mechanics are easy; it’s all about scheduling classes and providing a structured schedule for future classes and needed credits towards a degree.

Having passion or knowing what that passion is can be a bit more difficult. If you don’t know a person or what they’re interested in the only thing an adviser can do is answer questions for students.

“When people are asking questions they’re usually asking to find out about an industry.” Said Martin.

Having experience in the specific field like digital design and understanding what is needed in that field is a benefit for students, simply because the been there done that lessons are readily available for new and upcoming designers.

Although the number of students can range an adviser is responsible for the reality is that that number is typically inaccurate, because of the students who come by, call or are asking for information and guidance.

The best part of being an adviser is, “I get to teach students how to blow shit up, at least digitally.” But the worst, “is trying to help a student out when they find out their on a path that’s not suiting them, that’s a toughie.”

He went on to explain, “Because I can’t tell somebody if they’re on an incorrect path, they have to realize it for themselves. I don’t believe that it’s in my job to say to somebody this is not the correct path. I’m a firm believer that anyone can travel any path if they have the motivation, but some people don’t have the motivation and it has to be a self realization.”

Martin believes that you need to pick your own path, but the job of an adviser is being able to help someone realize that it’s not the right fit and help them find what is the right fit for them.

“The beauty of the community college system is they might lose a quarter, maybe two or three quarters they can still shift gears.” Martin said.

Where if you’re at a university you could lose more than just the time you put in, but additional time waiting for an opening in a specific program. Showing students that they have options and if they are changing they’re degree they may not always have to start over from scratch.

Martin said, “Sometimes they’re spending time with me, but it’s not me personally they’re spending time with my handouts, my webpage, they’re spending time looking at my little bulletin notes that I make each quarter and I know that helps because I have students that say, hey that answered all their questions and they didn’t have any.”