Lisa Helm wins NACADA award
For her work in advising and her service to Region 5, Governors State University’s (GovState) Lisa Helm has won the Service to Region 5 Award and will be recognized at an upcoming conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).
NACADA promotes and supports quality academic advising in higher education institutions to enhance the educational development of students.
“It means a great deal to be recognized for my commitment to NACADA, Region 5 and advising,” said Helm, who serves as the Director of Transfer and Persistence Initiatives in the Office of the Provost and has been an on and off member of NACADA for 34 years.
“The work that I did and do for the Region is support and the non-public things, so it really surprised me to be nominated and even more amazing to have won,” added Helm. Some of her efforts for NACADA include being a member on planning committees for seven conferences and serving as communications co-chair for the steering committee.
Helm has worked at GovState for 27 years and in her current position, she works on GSU Star, a retention initiative. She also works on the catalogue, transfer guides, transfer support, staffing of internal committees, and transcript evaluation.
Ironically, Helm says her award recognition came about after colleagues outside the university sang her praises.
“My friends and colleagues outside GovState nominated me,” says Helm. “They were from DePaul, Purdue, University of Michigan, and Ontario Technical University. It is a huge honor that they think so highly of me.”
Helm plans to attend the NACADA Region 5/Region 6 Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from March 25-27 where she will be recognized with the Service to Region 5 Award.