Jacob Allen (BS, Nursing, 2022) played an influential role as a peer academic advisor during his time at Boise State University.
The College of Health Sciences Student Services and Academic Advising Office helps 3,200 health sciences undergraduate students navigate the unique academic requirements in their clinical degree programs. Peer academic advisors take care of the preparation work necessary to enable professional advisors to maximize their time working one to one with students.
During his time on the team, Allen met with five to fifteen pre-nursing students a week to provide additional guidance, support and resources for their challenging academic journeys. Allen regularly had open and honest conversations with students about their academic progress. This was not always easy, but necessary to help students achieve their future career goals. Peer academic advisors not only instill confidence in health sciences students, they share personal experiences that make students feel seen and valued by the health sciences community.
“I saw the impact my role had on pre-nursing students. It was rewarding to see students feel confident in their academics and connected to the student nursing community,” Allen said.
Due to the substantial growth of the College of Health Sciences in the past five years, the Student Services and Academic Advising Office expanded the size of the team from eight to 18, which includes seven peer advisors. The college hired five new professional advising staff since the summer of 2022 to increase access for health sciences students.
The college seeks gifts to sustain the peer academic advisors and add three additional positions to further build the advising team. Your gift to our academic advising efforts will help health sciences students achieve academic success and become the healthcare professionals Idaho needs.