Professional Assistant II Lisa Behnke, center, receives the 2023 FA Member Excellence Award for Mentoring from FA President Dante Morelli and FA Secretary Cynthia Eaton. (photo by Victoria Pendzick)

The FA Member Excellence Award for Outstanding Mentoring asks for nominations of members who demonstrate “involvement in programs or activities that enhance professional growth within members of the college community” and of “going above and beyond to make a positive impact for students or peers.”

Professional Assistant II Lisa Behnke of the Academic Advising & Mentoring Center (AAMC) at Ammerman certainly meets these criteria and thus is our 2023 recipient for the ways she helps increase familiarity with and involvement at the college as well as new member efforts to foster positive growth.

Q — You were nominated for this mentoring award based on your years of mentoring students as well as colleagues, pretty much since you were first hired since your role is academic advisement. Let’s start with the ways you help mentor and guide students.

A — I really enjoy teaching students in my college seminar classes, especially when they connect back to me through the AAMC. They know that I’m right here on campus and fully invested in being here for them, even after the class ends since it’s just a ten-week class. They know I will support them in my role as a faculty member in the AAMC and continue that mentorship for their remaining time at the college.  

I also enjoy being advisor to student clubs. The Disney Club goes back a few years, and we did things like host a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation which was rewarding for the students. It’s nice to spend time with students this way because they tend to be more relaxed outside of the classroom. For the Hogwarts Club, I took students into the city to see the Harry Potter history of magic traveling exhibit from London—this was before the pandemic—at the New York Historical Society and we stopped at the New York Public Library too. Some students hadn’t even been to the city, and they had a great time. On campus, we do things like scavenger hunts with other clubs, Harry Potter trivia and a Yule Ball and Astera Ball with a DJ, dancing and food. Last semester we painted trash cans with Harry Potter themes and next we are planning a quidditch match.

I also really enjoy attending SCCC basketball games, including some away games upstate. Students recognize me and appreciate that I support them in all these ways. I’ve attended every single Commencement since I’ve been here, simply because it is just so joyful to see those students’ smiles. And I’ve been involved with the Foundation because it’s important to support students financially too.

It really matters that we get to know students in this way because it allows for informal kinds of mentoring beyond the classroom. It reminds us to view students in a more holistic way, to see what interests they have and what motivates them.

Q — Your nomination also mentioned mentoring colleagues at the AAMC, helping them become more familiar with the entire advisement process, and I know that you were recently invited to serve as the FA new member program coordinator for the Ammerman Campus. 

A — I’ve had certain faculty from the very beginning who feel comfortable coming into the AAMC for advisement hours because they know I’m here if they have questions while helping students and they want the reassurance of a second opinion. This is especially true when they’re advising students outside of their own discipline. I’m always here to give a bit of extra support. I also help faculty navigate the new features that seem to keep popping up on our website, in DegreeWorks, etc. Sometimes things change over the summer or winter, and faculty need to catch up. I like being a resource for faculty.

I also support faculty in their college seminar classes when they bring students into the AAMC for lessons. It’s another way to get information not only to students but to keep faculty abreast of the latest information too.

For the new member program, yes, that’s much more recent. I’ve been connecting new members with their mentors fairly easily, after getting some ideas and suggestions from Matt Pappas. I think our FA events have been successful too, such as the Spring Fling celebration and our get together at Miller’s Ale House. In addition, when Jean Anastasia was the AAMC coordinator, we hosted a little get together here which was well attended; we had over 15 faculty and a few administrators come and talk about the ways we can help one another.

Q — Talk to us about what path brought you to SCCC in spring 2014, and why you’ve been so committed to such full involvement in the life of the college ever since?

A — I started as an adjunct in fall 2013, then worked with Catherine Lipnick and Dante Morelli to get this center open and stocked with chairs, desks and everything else we needed. It was being funded by the Title III grant at that time. Then we were told there was a need for a full-time hire to keep center open five days a week, and I was hired in spring 2014.

Before that, I was actually a student here at SCCC. I started in fall 1983 as a first-generation college student from a single parent home. My family didn’t know their way around what college means, and I didn’t do well my first semester. I dropped out. Life intervened, and I didn’t come back to college until 2008 and I had four children by then. Since I was a volunteer in my local fire department, Walter Hazlitt (who was a board member at the time) encouraged me to go back to college as an adult learner. I received a SERVES scholarship that enabled me to afford college. I graduated from SCCC in 2010 with a degree in communication journalism, from Stony Brook in 2012 with a bachelor’s in English and in 2015 I earned my master’s degree.

Today I help students who are now in what once was my position. I like helping students who are first generation, or here on scholarship, or parents, or adult learners, or who dropped out and are coming back to us for another chance. I connect with those students in a special way because my experience gives me a different perspective to share with them. I’ll tell you, my college ring from Stony Brook is in a drawer at home. But I’m very proud of my SCCC ring and I never take that one off. SCCC has been part of my life for a very long time.

Q — You have served as FA EC rep for full-time PAs and specialists in programmatic areas since June 2016. You’ve also served on the FA negotiations team and—as noted above—most recently as new member coordinator for the Ammerman Campus. What does it mean to you to be involved with the FA? Why should everyone contribute to the union?

A — It means so much to me to be involved with the FA really because the camaraderie among colleagues is amplified when you’re active in the union. We’re all doing good work for the membership. I’ve gotten to know my colleagues so much more because of all the different things we do as a union. It makes us stronger and better when we’re part of it, and I love that.

I always post FA events and flyers on the walls and promote FA events. I’ve been fortunate that my constituents feel a level of confidence in me as an EC rep and keep re-electing me. I’m proud to do it and I find it very fulfilling. It’s second only to how I feel about being involved with students.

I think more members need to get involved. It doesn’t have to be a lot. It just takes that first step to become involved. Doing union work matters. It’s all about belonging and working together to make things better. I know that time is part of the issue for some people; that happens everywhere. But it doesn’t always take a lot of time to contribute. Just come to one FA-sponsored event and learn what are the ways you can get involved. Every single one of us should do our part. Even if you’re doing just a little bit, you’re doing your part.