MAHALIA SMITH | SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Ashley Nelson recently began her position as coordinator for the Adult Nontraditional and Transfer Student center, ANTS, on Jan. 8.
As a student, Nelson started off at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and transferred to APSU.
“I transferred to APSU and then decided to work at APSU just because I really felt like they valued their relationships with their students,” Nelson said.
Nelson said her experiences a transfer student made her want to work for ANTS.
“As someone who was a transfer student at the university I know a lot of people thin “well Oh, they’ve been to college before and they know how it works,” Nelson said, “but every university, even the one that I was at, that was similar in size, is a lot.”
Nelson’s background in admissions also gave her insight into the struggles some students have.
“I work a lot in admissions and I know that a lot of our students are adult and non-traditional students, I had a lot of interactions with them and I know and there are lots of barriers that they face coming to college just with the additional responsibilities, I really would like to help those students be more successful,” Nelson said.
At the end of last semester, transfer students were added to ANTS. The center’s current event allows transfer students to swap a shirt from their previous school for a new APSU shirt. The transferred shirts are then donated to organization that helps the homeless.
Other events are planned for this semester.
“We’re definitely wanting to add some student service spotlights, where students can come and we’ll spotlight different services on campus,” Nelson said. “Our first one is going to be March 14 and we’re going to have the associate director of financial aid come and he’s going to talk about the different scholarships available, different ways that you can get aid, and just help answer any questions students might have.”
The spotlight event is open to all students.
Nelson said meeting with students is what she will enjoy most out of her new job.
“I look forward to interacting with students at the university, in admissions I really just helped students get admitted, then I didn’t really see them as much because they were off getting involved in organizations and in the classroom,” Nelson said. “I’m really just looking forward to getting to know the students that I serve.”
