Helen Stichel joins us for a walk up Charles Street for a quick chat about her role at UBalt.
Stichel started in November 2022 as the program lead for student support in The University of Baltimore’s Office of Student Support. As part of her role, she will oversee the UBalt Connects Mentorship Program, which pairs staff with new students to strengthen their first-year experience.
BEHIND THE CHAT
Location: UBalt Student Center, fourth floor
Order: Green Tea Latte from Starbucks
Distance from campus: 0.2 miles (Starbucks)
Q: What brings you to The University of Baltimore? Tell us about the work you’re doing here.
A: I was really drawn to The University of Baltimore, because of a colleague in my [former] office who told me about the Office of Student Support and how much it was student centered. And I wasn't looking to leave but I was really drawn to this position because it focuses on mentorship. That’s half of it, and the other half of it is lower-level conduct cases, but sort of from a perspective of restorative justice and support. So again, I was just really fascinated by coming here and seeing how a different institution positioned itself to really support its students through their journey.
Q: Your own college experience includes studies of the fine arts, arts history, and museums and galleries. Tell us how your arts background evolved into student support.
A: I have an undergraduate degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in metal casting and art history, and I have a master's degree in museum education from the University College of London. I think you would put those things together and think like, fine arts world, but I really look at art as a place to begin. So, I have what I call a patchwork-quilt background. What started out in the fine arts sort of led into working with individuals in psychiatric hospitals, and sort of working around very complicated histories, and using art as a way to provide care and a space for connection. And it eventually led me back to higher ed.
I find that it doesn't matter what population I'm working with, I just love working with people who are trying to move toward something significant in their life. And that's why I think higher ed is a really good fit for me, because the people who are here, and especially the students at the University of Baltimore, are driven to get to where they want to go, and I'm always interested in sort of seeing the ways in which I can support someone as they move along their career path.
Watch: Helen shares how her art balances her support work
Q: Tell us about what UBalt Connects is and what kind of impact finding the right mentor can have on a college student.
A: We're looking at undergraduate students who are in their first year at the University of Baltimore, whether they're incoming in their first year at college, or if they're coming in as transfer students. The idea is that it's hard to bridge into higher education, and not everyone has all the answers as to what that experience is going to look like. Being able to have someone who you can turn to to ask advice, or for help trying to navigate different resources within the school—I think that if you’re coming to a school, you want to experience it fully, and UBalt Connects allows you to have access to people who have a different kind of experience with the University of Baltimore, and maybe a slightly longer experience, who can clue you into what's happening on campus and those resources. Generally, that's just a good place to begin, but it also provides you space to where you want to go and grow, and gives you someone who can be that, who you can turn to, who knows you as an individual, you're not part of a crowd.
Q: What's the best advice or guidance that you've received from someone that you considered a mentor?
A: I remember having a very unclear path, and I turned to someone who I had a mentorship relationship with—it wasn't a friend, wasn't a colleague, wasn't a family member, but it was someone who had more experience in an area than I did. I was feeling a little lost and what they said was you have all the things you need within yourself to get through this moment and find your way forward. But it wasn't just like a broad, you've-got-everything-you-need-inside-yourself like a card, it was, 'I know you Helen as a person and let me tell you what skills you have innately within yourself that I see; let me tell you about the skills you've gained through your education and through your work experiences; and let's chart out a path to figure out how you're going to move forward.' That was incredibly helpful in that moment, and I think reflects that individual relationship that happens within a mentorship.