The Student Success Office is Here For You!

Antonia Florence, staff writer

If your grades have been falling and are wondering if college is for you anymore, or it has been difficult fitting in, and you are fighting loneliness, rest assured these are all normal college experiences. There is help here at PVCC. The Student Success office includes coordinator, David Lerman, and Student Success Advisors Kristen Holt and Kristy Simpkins.

They are committed and ready to help all students at PVCC achieve their academic goals through appreciative advising.

“Appreciative advising is building up from a positive background. Everyone has positive somewhere, from some point in their life,” said Simpkins.

The Student Success office refers to in-house and community-based resources.

These resources include the Writing Center which is helpful to many, including English-as-a-second-language students.

In addition, academic coaching can foster good study and time management skills; and the First Quadrant math lab has math and science tutors.

Career advising can help open opportunities which one may not have thought possible, and PVCC’s branch of UVA Community Credit Union offers free budget counseling.

Community-based resources include mental health and legal counseling services through various agencies.

Housing and food shortfalls can also be addressed. “All of these affect our ability to learn,” said Simpkins.

Simpkins was a first generation college student, and by her own admission, was not a good student initially. Because of this, she lost her financial aid at one point. “We have to learn from our failures,” said Simpkins. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Christopher Newport University, she went on to Old Dominion University and earned her master’s degree in mental health counseling with a specialization in college counseling.

Simpkins has experienced some of the same pitfalls PVCC students may find themselves in.

Her eyes expressed encouragement when Simpkins said, “Don’t give up on yourself. You may not see immediate results but it will pay off.”

The Student Success office is housed in room M132 on PVCC’s Main Campus.