Graduating in four years was a top priority for Morgan Middleton. Because of NDSU’s professional advising, Middleton graduated this spring with bachelor’s degrees in business administration and accounting, a banking minor and a finance certificate.
Middleton met with her advisor, Brad Jones, for three of her four years at NDSU. While she was originally unsure what she wanted to major in, Jones helped Middleton reach her goals.
“As someone who bounced around my first two years on what I wanted to do for majors and minors, Brad was great at helping me navigate through those times,” said Middleton, who is from Clarion, Iowa. “When I finally decided on my accounting major, he was able to set my schedule in a way that helped me graduate in four years.”
Some of the best advice Middleton said she received from Jones was to trust the journey.
“Going back and forth between majors had me very nervous about graduating on time and if I was choosing the right path. Brad always put me at ease to just trust the process and the journey along the way,” she said.
Jones advises 287 students across all majors in the College of Business. His main goal is providing students with the support they need to graduate. This includes ensuring his advisees are taking the right courses, as well as talking through resources, career opportunities and major options depending on what they need.
“I try to create an environment for students to be open and honest with me about things going on in their lives,” Jones said. “There’s so many things that can impact student success and I want them to be able to share what successes to celebrate or barriers to work through and provide options. I want all my students to know that I care about them as a person and want them to reach their goals.”
Jones’ advising has been tremendously helpful for Middleton as she transitions from college to the workforce. Middleton said that with Jones’ help she was able to build her resume and gain communication skills from asking questions during their advising meetings.
“Leaving NDSU I feel very confident in the class path I have taken and feel prepared to go into the workforce with the knowledge I have,” she said.
Even outside of her academics, Middleton said she was able to connect with Jones.
“Brad is a sports announcer for the NDSU Volleyball games, and I was on the NDSU volleyball team. It was a great way to build our relationship outside of just academics,” she said. “He also has the sweetest daughter whose name is also Morgan. He brought her to the NDSU youth camp day, and we were able to make bracelets together, which I still have on my jewelry stand.”
Jones said supporting students as they make their way through NDSU is one of his favorite things about the job.
“I just enjoy getting to know our students. It’s so rewarding to see a student come to NDSU unsure of what they want to do and finding a home, building their confidence and leaving here ready to make a difference,” he said. “I’m so proud of the work ethic of our students and their desire to have a positive impact on people both while they’re here and once they graduate. Students like Morgan work so hard and put so much thought into their academics, it’s great to be able to be able to support their NDSU experience.”
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