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Surrey Science Advisor

Short Bio About Nadia

I have been an Academic Advisor for Surrey Science students for over 15 years, and hold a Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising from Kansas State following my undergrad here at SFU.  I enjoy various types of advising and strive to match with each student’s circumstances. Some of my favourite things about our campus are its smaller class sizes and faculty/staff/student comradery.  I enjoy our semi urban setting by walking the campus neighbourhood on breaks and am a strong proponent of study/work and life balance. I am also the Academic Advisor for SFU’s General Science Double Minor degree, undecided Science students over 60 units, internal faculty transfers, and Science second degree students.

Random personal facts: I am a cat person. My top snacks are: pretzels, dark chocolate with nuts, and French fries.

Connecting with me options:

  • Book an appointment via AdvisorLink (in person, Zoom, phone options)
  • Email science_advisor@sfu.ca (1 – 2 business days response time)
  • Phone 778.782.7486
  • Drop by 2910 inside the main Faculty of Science offices.  I’m normally in 9:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Friday.  If I’m not with a booked appointment I am happy to see drop-ins anytime

You should ideally meet with an academic advisor at least once per term

How Advising Can Help You – Why should you connect with me/why advising is important

Nadia’s Personal Advising Philosophy

My philosophy of assistance and teaching stems from my belief in every student’s potential to develop academically and personally during your time at university.

Academic advising is a key foundation of your overall post-secondary success, along with perseverance, time management, leveled-up study skills, and adequate sleep/physical activity/nutrition.

We define together career, education, and life goals striving for the best route to get you to where you envision yourself being post-undergraduate degree.  This ranges across course planning, policy interpretation, goal setting, parallel plans, opportunity awareness, support systems, and more. One of my goals is to help you discover where your interests, skills, and abilities intersect and apply that to your academic course selection and career development.

While I will advise you, it is ultimately yours – the student’s – responsibility for your own choices and whether or not to act on advice given.

Helpful Resources – How to Prepare for an Advising Appointment with Nadia

  • Give yourself permission to spend time talking with your advisor and be open-minded about program choices, career paths, breadth courses, parallel plans, co-curricular activities, etc.
  • Contact your advisor a few weeks prior to your enrolment date each term to avoid a wait during busy time periods
  • If you are going to be late or need to cancel an appointment, that is understandable.  Communicate and let your advisor know!
  • When given exploratory assignments, follow up with your advisor, bring your results with you, and be prepared to share your thoughts on your experience
  • Write down questions you have beforehand and bring them with you
  • Reflect on what you are learning about yourself in classes – what you enjoy, what you do not like, ease, difficulty
  • You do not need to bring your advising transcript with you to see me, but you should know how to access it for yourself
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