Sharon Stahl,
takes pride in students' accomplishments
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Sharon Stahl, takes pride in students' accomplishments |
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Helping
students find their way
Sharon Stahl, Ph.D., takes great reward in advising undergraduates in all areas of college life By Andy Clendennen Working as a tour guide for the Research Reactor Facility at the University of Missouri as an undergraduate doesn't seem exactly on Sharon Stahl's career path.
While that early job involved guiding visitors through the research reactor, her current job sees her guiding students through the undergraduate years in the College of Arts & Sciences. Stahl leaves her imprint on several aspects of University life. She is an associate dean in the College of Arts & Sciences. She is the director of the Life Sciences Program. She is a four-year adviser. She is the liaison for the college to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. She works with the Honorary Scholars Program. She is active with the Danforth Scholars Program. And she works with the Biggs Residency in the Classics. "She does so many things so well," said James E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. "She is smart and creative and commits her talents to a number of areas." She keeps busy, to say the least. But advising is what she considers her principal responsibility. Every year, she is assigned 40 incoming freshmen. They stay with her until they leave the University, either to pursue graduate degrees, opportunities in volunteer and service work, or to head to the corporate sector. "In August and September, I'll meet with them weekly in groups of 10; a peer adviser, an upperclassman, is my partner in these group meetings and is an invaluable resource to first-year students," Stahl said. "The rationale is to help them get a great start here, to help them get connected with the resources and the opportunities. For some students, it's a very easy transition to come to a university. For others, it's a challenge. For many students, it is the first time they've shared a room or shared a bathroom; they might be living with someone from a part of the country they've never visited, or with someone who is of a different religion, race, ethnicity or who has a different sexual orientation. "Having a small peer group with whom students can develop a comfort level and talk about these new experiences really helps. It's important to have someone they can come to when they need to know something, they feel overwhelmed or have a problem, or when they just need to chat with someone who cares about them." The four-year advising program in the College of Arts & Sciences provides every student with an adviser, either a faculty member or one of the deans in the college's office such as Stahl, who works with the student throughout the undergraduate years. Not infrequently, these relationships continue beyond the student's tenure at the University, and sometimes that happens more often than the advisers know. It's a relationship that can last a lifetime. Rhodes Scholar Ben Cannon was one of Stahl's advisees. He recently got married, and he asked Stahl to speak at his wedding. She accepted. "It was a great honor for me and pretty intimidating," Stahl said, "and now it is certainly for sure that I'll be connected to Ben and Liz (Elizabeth Bower, also a University alum) for the rest of their lives. Well, more probably the rest of my life." Sometimes, though, the impact of the support and advice she gives to students isn't immediately apparent. Another program that Stahl participates in is called the Dean of the Day (DOD). Each weekday, one of the deans in the college's office holds open office hours when any student can come in and talk about any issues or problems. Most often the problems can be solved; sometimes they can't. Regardless, there are times when the DOD just doesn't know if the advice and counsel has been successful. But not always. "One of the most touching experiences I've had is receiving a letter from a student that I saw during my DOD hours," Stahl said. "When the letter came, I didn't recognize the name or the address in Oklahoma. He wrote that he had come to see me only once in his time at the University and during my open office hours. I don't remember it at all. "But he wrote to me three years after graduation, and said that the day that he saw me and talked with me changed his life.
Stahl came to the University from Vanderbilt University, where she worked in undergraduate admissions and her husband, Philip D. Stahl, Ph.D., completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Molecular Biology. She started work there on a master's degree in art history, and the couple had their first child. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to St. Louis. Philip Stahl became a faculty member in 1971, and remains at the School of Medicine where he is the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor and head of the department of cell biology and physiology. Two more children followed, and Sharon Stahl stayed home with them until 1979, when she started the doctoral program in history at SLU. She took advantage of the reciprocity agreement by which SLU students could take classes at Washington University.
"It took me a long time to finish my degree, because I had three small children and was teaching at the Priory (a junior high and high school in west St. Louis County)," Stahl said. "I had planned to write my dissertation while teaching but quickly realized that teaching in a Benedictine boys' school and writing a dissertation is not a compatible combination. But I really loved my time at the Priory, and I know it helped make me a better adviser." In 1987, she earned a doctorate in history, and the following year she started working part-time at the University. A few years later, she was working full-time and gradually started expanding her contributions. On at least three occasions, McLeod asked Stahl if she would be interested in trying something new, heading a new venture, taking on more responsibilities or becoming a more integral part of the office. Every time, Stahl said yes. "She really cares about and understands what a place like this does for young people," McLeod said. "She's willing to commit her time, energy and creativity to that. She is wonderful with people, she has great sensitivity and awareness, and she works very well with lots of people." It's pretty clear McLeod tabbed the right person. Stahl has impacted so many lives and helped so many students get through the University. But she also recognizes the impact that her advisees have had on her. "Often you'll see students who simply need a routine question answered or who want to share their interests, and it is great fun to be able to connect them with faculty who will share their enthusiasm," she said. "But sometimes you'll get kids that come to you who are facing problems that they think are insurmountable, or something that has really disrupted their lives. "One of the things that is most wonderful about this University is the pleasure and joy we take in seeing young people accomplish things. What gives us the greatest reward is seeing students do something extraordinary, and students can do many extraordinary things here because faculty -- and all of us in the University community -- are committed to helping them make the most of their undergraduate experience." |
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