Jennifer Cullison

Name:

Jennifer Cullison

Job Title:

College Adviser

Joined the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising in:

March 2007

What is your approach to advising?

I have an eye for many different kinds of academic advising – but always my first interest is to help students meet their educational goals. I am also an advocate of running with "itchy" feet (i.e., listening to an inner call to explore). My philosophy of advising stresses whole brain satisfaction and the willingness to experiment and change your mind (well, as long as it is before the deadline!).

Education:

MA, History, San Francisco State, 2004
MA, Religious Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1997
BA, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1993

How did you get here?

I have spent most of my adult life teaching or working in education. Before coming here, I was teaching English in Brazil and before that I taught history at Skyline College and led the Undergraduate Office advising team in the College of Environmental Design. In CED, I worked to revise and develop many advising systems, specializing in EAP and articulation projects.

What's your favorite part of your job?

I enjoy helping students (especially international and immigrant students) adjust to Cal, coordinating travel programs and technology projects.

Most unusual job you ever had:

It was actually my first job on campus. I was an administrator for a small NASA observatory, as I like to call it. Really, it was an operations center for a mid-size satellite. At one point, the engineers were training me to control the satellite. The job also provided a lot of opportunities to learn about project management, web technology, and conference coordination. It was really perfect for that part of my life.

What's the best class you've ever taken?

For the experience, I enjoyed taking the UC Berkeley Summer Session Travel Study program to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in 2003 (well after I finished my BA). We had two classes from the African American Studies department – one on Afro-Brazilian history the other on Race in the US and Brazil. We read some awesome texts that I still refer to day, had some good discussions, and went on some field trips to centers of Afro-Brazilian religion and culture that many Brazilians, even, never get to see. If you ever want to talk about travel study and other ways to study abroad, do ask for me!

About me:

On off hours you might find me singing songs in Portuguese as meet up with my husband and my beautifuly new baby to go "ginga" in capoeira class. I might also bring in Brazilian snacks to share with students including a chocolate-like snack called brigadero, any incarnation of the fruit acai, or even meaty feijoada, but don't remind me that I was a vegetarian for thirteen years before I went to Brazil!

What advice do you have for L&S students in general?

Remember, even at Cal, it is the student that makes the degree and not the University that makes the student. Your degree will mean so much more than "Cal" grad if you study what you love, pursue that at which you can excel, test your boundaries, and engage in what you are doing. So, make the most of your time here and add your own flavor to your "bona fide smart" (BS) person degree.