2008 Woodie Awards
Mae Fitchett: Friend and Counselor to All
Lori Lipkin
Issue date: 11/11/05 Section: Life & Times
If you're looking for a name you'll never want to forget at Rollins College, Mae Fitchett is the one.
Her business card calls her 'Coordinator of Academic Enhancement Services' but once you are in her presence; you realize how little that title describes the entire realm of the person she is to students, friends and faculty.
Located in the Mills Memorial Center, at the Thomas P. Johnson Student Resource center (TJ's), Mae could be described as the 'counselor to all' or the 'keeper of wisdom and warmth.'
She is immediately welcoming - specifically warm, and completely free from any falsity or social masks.
She presents to you exactly who she is - a task few accomplish, and cannot be fully described in one article - hence visiting is a must, walk-ins are welcome!
"I see myself as a facilitator for students, particularly an advocate for them by understanding the academic policies, the options before them, and whatever I can do to help them succeed here," Mae states humbly.
"I try to help them gather as much information as they can and then hope that they will make the best decisions."
She definitely gathers all of the information. Once Mae has touched your life, it would be hard for you not to make the best decisions.
One of the most interesting aspects of Mae's history is how she ended up with us at Rollins.
Born in a small town near Virginia Beach, Mae attended Virginia State University receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Education to become a Physical Therapist.
"My freshman year I walked in and they said, 'Here's your plan. This is what you need to graduate.' There were not many choices at my school as there are at a Liberal Arts school but I hung in there."
After she finished her BA, she worked at the college in a summer program as a student counselor.
"When I was a junior, I wanted to transfer to a medical college in Virginia that had the physical therapy but I was too far gone. So I understand when students come in and say 'I've got to do something, I can't afford to transfer. I've got to stay here and finish.'
Her business card calls her 'Coordinator of Academic Enhancement Services' but once you are in her presence; you realize how little that title describes the entire realm of the person she is to students, friends and faculty.
Located in the Mills Memorial Center, at the Thomas P. Johnson Student Resource center (TJ's), Mae could be described as the 'counselor to all' or the 'keeper of wisdom and warmth.'
She is immediately welcoming - specifically warm, and completely free from any falsity or social masks.
She presents to you exactly who she is - a task few accomplish, and cannot be fully described in one article - hence visiting is a must, walk-ins are welcome!
"I see myself as a facilitator for students, particularly an advocate for them by understanding the academic policies, the options before them, and whatever I can do to help them succeed here," Mae states humbly.
"I try to help them gather as much information as they can and then hope that they will make the best decisions."
She definitely gathers all of the information. Once Mae has touched your life, it would be hard for you not to make the best decisions.
One of the most interesting aspects of Mae's history is how she ended up with us at Rollins.
Born in a small town near Virginia Beach, Mae attended Virginia State University receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Education to become a Physical Therapist.
"My freshman year I walked in and they said, 'Here's your plan. This is what you need to graduate.' There were not many choices at my school as there are at a Liberal Arts school but I hung in there."
After she finished her BA, she worked at the college in a summer program as a student counselor.
"When I was a junior, I wanted to transfer to a medical college in Virginia that had the physical therapy but I was too far gone. So I understand when students come in and say 'I've got to do something, I can't afford to transfer. I've got to stay here and finish.'