Director and Academic Advisor - Statler College Advising Center
Michelle advises all majors of undergraduate engineering students. In addition to serving on Statler committees, Mrs. Poland has served as a co-chair for the Academic Advising Council's Executive Committee, is a member of the Honors Advisory Committee as well as the Completion Committee, and is a member of the Provost Office's Academic Intervention Team. She has also served as a member of the WVU Advising Development Collaborative and was a participant in the iPASS Excellence in Advising series.
Mrs. Poland was selected as the National Academic Advising Association’s (NACADA) Outstanding New Advisor for the state of West Virginia (Region III) in 2014, and as an Outstanding Advisor for the Statler College in 2015. She was selected to receive the West Virginia University 2017 Nicholas Evans Excellence in Advising Award and received the 2017 Statler College Outstanding Advisor of the Year. She has recently been recognized as a NACADA Region 3 Excellence in Advising - Advising Administrator Certificate of Merit recipient (2023).
As an academic advisor, I fully believe that one of the many keys to success for an undergraduate student is engagement in a successful academic advising experience and connection to a supportive academic advisor. I believe the foundation of those experiences lies in theory and applying different theoretical approaches based on the individuality of each student.
In all interactions, whether they be with colleagues or students, I am genuine. I treat students as I want my own children treated. I truly desire the best for each student and consistently place their well-being as the most important goal, ahead of other college or university outcomes. Students are people first – their academic success is impacted by many other factors and part of my role is to help students navigate the educational journey.
Nearly every student in higher education will need to utilize at least one additional resource outside of the classroom – often students will need to utilize several resources. As an academic advisor, I can be the “front desk” to the University. I am here to help guide them to the best resources for their specific situation and support them in utilizing those resources.
I push each of my students to continually update their goals and once a goal is met, we make a new goal. I am a firm believer that we don’t step out of our comfort zones, because if you step out of that zone, it allows you to step back into that zone. Instead, we stretch our comfort zones. This allows each student to grow through experiences and opportunities.
My goal for each of my students is for them to graduate as successful engineers, critical thinkers, and ultimately – good humans. I want each to be competent in their chosen field, but also confident in their ability to successfully navigate a personal or professional challenge by utilizing resources or networks of support appropriately.
As the Director of Advising for the Statler College, I believe in empowering my team of advisors to develop their own advising identity and philosophy. I fully support professional development and exploration. I want to provide a model for their growth as well.I strive to provide opportunities for the advising team to learn and grow within their personal goals, which in turn will benefit our students.
With a background in industrial engineering, I believe in continuous improvement. We follow the engineering design cycle by implementing new ideas, assessing implementation, utilizing assessment data to make informed changes, and assess again. I continually push the envelope for myself, my students, and the advising team.
Academic advising is part of the learning process. Advisors guide students through the academic journey of exploration and self-reflection. We are partners on the pathway to each student’s professional development.
Education
M.S. Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, WVU, 2008
B.S. Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, WVU, 2006