Café Advising aims to help unsure students

Many students don't realize the small sitting area next to the coffee stand in the Bremer Student Center is the home of Café Advising, a unique program that offers academic guidance to students in the comfort of the cafeteria. The program was formed from an idea English instructor Eunha Jung had early last year in an instructional meeting in hopes to gain more open communication between students and professors. Jung said the idea started when a student asked her why we don't have a café culture in America like there is in Europe. This sparked a plan to help students feel more in touch with their campus by taking advantage of the social environment that was already in place. Dr. Susan Digby, an OC geography professor who has been involved with the program since its conception, said a sense of belonging can have a significant impact on a students academic career. "I think people are more successful if they're in an environment they are comfortable in," Digby said. "(OC) is not a residential campus," Jung said. "People are busy with other jobs and students can feel isolated." Jung's goal was to make advising more convenient to students. "Some (students) don't have time to go to advisors," Jung said. She added that making office appointments or going to a professor can be intimidating and some students "don't want to bother with it." When the program started in December, many of the necessary components were missing, such as chairs, a table, a phone, desk and a computer for advisers to use. But right from the beginning it had the faculty support it needed. Jung had 13 full-time faculty volunteer their time to spend an hour or two of their mandatory office hours in the café. "What was amazing was there wasn't a single office that wasn't involved in making it happen," Jung said. She added that Dean of Student Development Dr. Gina Huston helped a lot in getting signs and furniture for the program and getting money for some expenses. "It would be nice if we could at least pay for (the advisers) coffee," Jung said about the money. She also said she wants to replace the computer and furniture that they are using. After almost a year, the program has about 16 professors, including some adjuncts that are not required to have office hours. Usually from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the BSC, students can find help from an instructor about what resources are available to them on campus, how to plan their schedules or just figure out what they want to do with their lives. "We're not doing scheduling, but mainly more mentoring," Jung said. "If you can find what you enjoy doing, your college years will be successful." But even though the program has been getting some of the support it needs to get started, most students have yet to take advantage of it. But Jung and Digby both said the program has enriched their professional experiences. "If I make one student drop by there who wouldn't otherwise, I'm ahead one student," Digby said.