Spotlight on New Undergraduate Advising Team

  • A photo of the new CS undergraduate advising team taken behind the dry erase board in the CS commons room. From left to right is Natalie Ryan, Jessica Fischetti, and Jill Ferrara.

Spotlight on New Undergraduate Advising Team

Meet the New Undergraduate Advising Team

College is hard. This isn’t a hot take, but simple fact; College is a huge transition, with a lot of freedom suddenly granted to students. More freedom comes with more consequences, and the swirl of responsibilities and duties now on one’s shoulders is overwhelming. Rowan offers tons of resources to students to help manage that stress, but it can be difficult or intimidating to reach out, especially if you’re unsure what you actually need. That’s where academic advisors come in. 

Academic advisors help guide students throughout their college experience. Primarily, students use them to help pick classes for upcoming semesters, but advisors can also help guide students through their college career. Recently, a new advisor team for undergraduate students in the CS department formed. Advisors Jessica Fischetti, Natalie Ryan, and Jill Ferrara help make college more manageable. 

Jessica Fischetti is the senior academic advisor for the Computer Science department. Fischetti advises all year levels, helping with graduate applications as well. “I'm a student's point person when they need something,” says Fischetti. Fischetti has been an advisor within the department for several years, recently gaining the position of senior academic advisor. Fischetti’s favorite part about working with students is interacting with them beyond a purely academic level. “I like getting to know them as a human begins outside of the classroom. When they tell me stories about where they’re traveling, their families, I get to know the full picture. I enjoy making those connections with students,” says Fischetti. Fischetti became interested in the role of a CS advisor specifically because it was outside of her comfort zone– the opportunity to guide stem students was something she hadn’t done before, and the positive reputation of fellow staffers Michael Schillo and Kimberly Poolos made the CS department her perfect fit. As an advisor, Fischetti sees a lot of different problems and students, so she a few words of advice: “Take advantage of everything Rowan has to offer, academic and socially. Try not to be too hard on yourself, because this is a learning process and you're still a kid. Take your time, grow, learn, experience, give yourself grace. Try to enjoy college.” 

Natalie Ryan is the new undergraduate advisor for freshmen and sophomores. She got her bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric and Communication  from Pittsburgh University, getting her masters in Education Counseling at the University of Southern California. Ryan was a member of her schools’ Black Student Union and First Generation. She was also involved in her schools’ athletics, and several departments such as the schools of business and the schools of education. As an academic advisor, Ryan wishes to give back to students, as the support she received throughout her schooling career was paramount to her success.  “They're people who  had bad experiences with their academic advisors, so I wanted to return the favor for everything I had gone through in college,” says Ryan. Ryan also offers a word of advice to students: “Make sure you cultivate good relationships with your professors, and seek out mentors on campus. Asking people for a sit-down, pick their brains, see how they got into their role,” says Ryan. 

Jill Ferrara is the undergraduate advisor for juniors and seniors. Ferrara is a first gen student who attended Rowan University, garnering a bachelors in Communications studies, a bachelors in English, and a masters in Higher Education. Ferrara’s favorite part about being a student advisor is working with students. “I really like getting to have that connection with someone, kind of in a helping profession, having someone come in, if they have questions or if they're feeling uncertain about things, nice to be able to help and offer help to students,” says Ferrara. Ferrara notes that one of the reasons why she became an advisor was to help students better take advantage of the college experience.  “When I  was in college, I worked more than I went to college,” says Ferrara. “Because of that, I didn't have a great experience. I didn't really get involved and feel engaged. Looking back, it would’ve been very cool if someone could’ve pointed me in the right direction. I wanted to get involved in secondary education to pay it forward, and help students not have such a long and convoluted road.” Ferrara’s words of advice? “Take advantage of every aspect of what Rowan has to offer. People come to college for the academic experience, but you’re also developing socially and emotionally. All of these different areas grow from being in college, so use Rowan’s resources to help yourself grow.”

There are some upcoming events within the department where students can interact with the new advising team, and get some extra help. There’s a brand new wave of CS specific transfer student information sessions.

The CS advisors are dedicated to making each and every student’s college career runs as smoothly as possible. “We never turn a CS student away,” says Fischetti. As students register for classes and change their major paths, the CS advising staff wishes to remind students that they are always there to help guide students to their destination. “we wanna help you learn how to navigate and advocate for yourself. We are here for them,” says Fischetti.


Written by Kiley Parker | Posted 2023.4.17