UAA College of Business and Public Policy

Meet the Team at the CBPP Student Advising Center

April 12, 2022

What are the requirements for your program? What order should you take your courses in? How can you navigate UAA resources?

The Student Advising Center, commonly known as SAC, provides answers to these questions and more. Advisors play a huge role in guiding students through the programs offered by CBPP, whether an occupational endorsement certificate or a Bachelor of Business Administration.

In this article, we will introduce you to the SAC team members, who are there to help you throughout your CBPP undergraduate journey. Learn about their backgrounds, advice and how to get in touch!

The team at SAC

Andrea Jones recently became Director of the Student Advising Center. She had been a CBPP academic advisor for six years previously, and before that she was a UAA admissions counselor. In that job, she enjoyed traveling around Alaska talking to prospective students, but rarely got to keep in touch once they came to UAA. She began considering advising so she could work with students throughout their time here.

“I love to see what students do and where life leads them,” Andrea said. “The best moments of my job are when a student tells me they aced that accounting midterm or landed their dream job after graduation. I like to see where their journey at UAA takes them and celebrate their accomplishments with them.”

Andrea has a BS in Management from Park University and a MPA from University of Alaska Southeast. During her college career, she had varying experiences: as a full-time traditional freshman living on campus, a transfer/military dependent student and a part-time school/full-time working student. “I can relate to many of the struggles students go through. I hope I can be of support and encouragement to the students I get to work with.”

Andrea came to Alaska eleven years ago after growing up in Illinois. She enjoys spending time camping and fishing in the summer and her winter hobbies include hibernating and watching Netflix (some favorites are The Office and Outlander.) She also enjoys spending time with her dog and two cats.

Martha Massey has been an academic advisor with SAC for more than eleven years. Previously, she had worked for the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, but wanted to work more directly with students and help them through their degree completion.

Working as an academic advisor is especially gratifying when she sees students overcome setbacks to reach the finish line. Before moving to Alaska, Martha lived in Missouri and Indiana. She holds a BBA in Management from the University of Notre Dame. When she’s not helping students out at SAC, she enjoys hiking, walking and swimming.

Sharon Pruszko joined CBPP last fall, after three years as a UAA First Year Advisor. She enjoys helping students navigate a challenging system. As she says, “It’s hard being a student!” Sharon’s interest in student advising began during summers working for the Rural Alaska Honors Institute at UAF. “I really enjoyed the one to one connections with students in a higher education setting, by building confidence, setting goals and coaching through educational experiences.”

Sharon was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from Penn State University. Outside of work she loves skiing (backcountry and xcountry), backpacking, mountain biking, gardening, sewing, teaching her Australian Shepard sweet tricks, and cooking. She recently read Untamed by Glennon Doyle and listened to the audiobook Originals by Adam Grant.

Getting in touch with SAC

• Email sac@alaska.edu or send a message directly to your preferred advisor. Email response times are typically one business day (possibly two during registration week).
• Call (907) 786-4100. If there is no answer, advisors are working with other students. Leave a voicemail and you’ll get a call back.
• Schedule an advising appointment online in Seawolf Tracks