Marylou Neidig

Top 5 CliftonStrengths®

Developer, Relator, Empathy, Adaptability, Responsibility

Marylou came to academic advising through personal and professional experience. “As a very lost and confused undergraduate student who changed their major 5 times, realizing I had the ability to help students who were in my exact position was something I couldn’t turn down,” they note. Later as a Graduate Assistant at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Marylou got a taste of advising through New Student Orientation helping the advisers with undecided students choose majors and classes. Currently, Marylou advises any undergraduate student in the John Chambers college’s 13 programs.”

Marylou finds advising to be “the most perfect blend of tasks. There’s just enough talking to students, faculty, and staff to fill my social needs, but plenty of emails, spreadsheets, and other back-end work that I get my peace and quiet.” Though Marylou is a newer to WVU professionally, their colleagues have already marked their expertise in several programs and advising models. “Marylou is a sought-after adviser by all students,” Julia Broskey points out. “As a WVU Alum and the color guard coach for the Pride of West Virginia, Marylou is very relatable to students.”

Marylou encourages advisees to question everything – and counsels new advisers to do the same! Many of the questions they pose to students would serve us all in our professional careers as well: Do you like what you’re doing? Will it fill your needs socially, emotionally, financially? Is there something better for you? Is this helping me or hindering me? Is this a Current Me problem or a Future Me problem? “It serves you so well to ask questions early to build a strong foundation for your knowledge of your college of your college and the catalog,” Marylou states.