Sean Bridgen, advising program coordinator at Penn State New Kensington, was selected as a recipient of the Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit recently by the National Academic Advising Association.
Headquartered in Manhattan, Kan., NACADA supports quality academic advising in institutions of higher education to enhance the educational development of students. It serves as an advocate for effective academic advising by providing funding for research related to academic advising for more than 10,000 of its members.
As advising program coordinator, Bridgen counsels students who are undecided about academic majors, discusses suitable career objectives as demonstrated by student abilities and interests, plans courses of study, and refers students to other resources when appropriate.
"I help students to engage in their educations, make meaning of their curricula, and define their educational goals," said Bridgen, who joined the campus staff in 2007. "I also perform administrative and leadership duties in the pursuit of excellence in academic advising on our campus."
The Academic Advising Center is housed within the Academic and Career Success Center. Located on the lower level of the Student Union, the center is a collaboration of three departments -- Learning Center; Division of Undergraduate Studies and Advising; and Career Services -- that work together to help students develop and succeed in their academic and career goals.
Prior to his Penn State appointment, Bridgen served as academic advisor and systems analyst at the University of Pittsburgh. Bridgen holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Pittsburgh and a master's degree in student affairs in higher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He will begin work on a doctorate in education in the fall at IUP.
Bridgen will be presented with the award in the fall at the annual NACADA conference in Florida. A graduate of Valley High School, Bridgen and his wife Erin, reside in his hometown of Arnold, Pa.
For more about Academic and Career Success Center, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/StudentServices/41558.htm online.