TRiO adviser Gail Harris is fairly new to SCCC/ATS. Harris has only been a Seward employee for about a month now. Her main job is as a career and academic adviser for students in the TRiO program which helps first generation students in college. Harris was like many of the students who attend SCCC in that she was a non-traditional student. She attended a community college and got an associates degree in applied science and human services. Afterwards, she spent some time as a correctional officer and at the age of 24 she joined the Army. While in the Army, Harris worked as a licensed practical nurse. Later she went on to get her bachelor of arts degree and became a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor. “Rather than helping people while they were already in trouble, I wanted to help people that were already in progression,” Harris said. So, Harris went back to school. Only after getting a master’s in communication did Harris truly realize that her true passion was higher education. “I experimented all the way up until I was like, ‘this is it.’ I had an ‘aha’ moment. When you find a job that you’re passionate about, you don’t mind spending time; you don’t mind investing in that particular area.” After realizing her passion, Harris got another master’s degree, this time in education administration. Harris attributes part of her passion for education to her past mentors which included several teachers and an adviser she had in college. Although, Harris has only been in Liberal for a short time, she is already getting a feel for the kind of place it is. “One of the things I like about it is the Southern charm. Everyone is really nice and very helpful, and it’s very peaceful. That in itself is a big transition from Chicago. It’s a relaxed environment; a peaceful environment. I really enjoy peace. You can’t purchase it from me. It’s priceless.” As an adviser, Harris must help students make decisions regarding what classes to take in order to get a certain job or degree. Alex Musgrove, secretary for Student Support Services, has firsthand account of Harris’ work. “She’s pretty straight forward with students; there’s no fluff. She tells them what needs to get done and what we can do to help them and what they can do to help themselves,” Musgrove said. In addition to advising at SCCC, Harris will be teaching classes starting next semester.