Teresa McElroy, LISW, Associate Dean of Admissions and Advising, Western Iowa Tech Community College
1. Please describe your role on campus.
I supervise six academic advisors and two licensed mental health therapists along with the ADA Accommodations program, Comet Cupboard (food pantry), and our Health Clinic. Prior to accepting this position 3 years ago, I was the sole mental health therapist on campus for an average of 4,000 students.
2. How do you lead and interface with mental health and well-being on your campus?
I am a social worker at my core and am now “playing” in the field of academia. I come from a child welfare and foster care/adoption background. I obtained my LMSW license in 2009 and worked as a part-time college counselor. I quickly recognized providing only four hours of mental health services a week for 4,000 students was a disservice. Since then, my role became a full-time position, and WIT now has two full-time counselors. In my 12 years as a college counselor, I have developed a good understanding of the challenges our students face. Providing therapy in a college setting is a great way to keep students future-focused.
3. Would you share a story where you were concerned about something or someone, and the steps you took that either helped and/or left you considering how you would do it differently?
While it was originally intended for our LGTBQ+ communities, our ‘Chosen Name’ campus policy ended up encompassing persons going through divorce, international students choosing an English name, those with a nickname, and so on. This was widely supported by WIT staff. It took nearly three years to sync computer software tools, reports, and records to reach our goal! Many departments worked on this project, and I am glad to say our perseverance paid off. It is a widely embraced customer service tool in our WIT community.
Early in my therapist role, I saw how food insecurity was a major challenge for our students. Our surrounding Siouxland community has the most diverse population in Iowa, so our student body is the most diverse and low-income population of any Iowa community college. In 2019, I appealed to our administration to create a food bank on campus through their donations. The response was positive and employees flooded our food pantry with donations of non-perishable food and personal care items. This started a series of collaborative partnerships with community programs, showing me that we cannot do this health and well-being work on our own. Solutions are out there, but they require partnerships and creativity to make them reality.
4. Could you tell us about one high point and one low point in your work?
High Point: A high point is writing this CampUS feature for you all. I am proud of Western Iowa Tech Community College and the services we have developed for students over the past few years. It is pretty dang impressive!
Low Point: There have been low points and there will be again. My low points usually surround peers and initiatives not moving as fast as my mind goes. But, we must get up the next day and keep trying. My retirement is on the horizon, so I better “git to gitten!”
5. Is there something which you would like to normalize for others, where they may think they cannot share it?
I think being honest about frustrations in a solution-focused mindset needs to be normalized. We can all complain about other people, processes, and decisions. Until we bring solutions, that is all wasted energy. I knew very little about academia and being the first social worker on the scene was scary. However, looking at the accomplishments listed above is very rewarding!
3 Self-Care Strategies Teresa Swears By
- Don’t do it alone. You do not have to do this work alone. In fact, it is impossible. Partnering with all areas and departments of the campus is the key to WIT’s success. We have a shared responsibility in retaining our students.
- Look up! Have fun! Be fun! Bring the fun! It is easy to get siloed and stuck on your perpetual ‘TO-DO’ lists. The work is never ending, so look up and SEE others!
- Use vacation time. I love my vacation time! We are given vacation days for a reason, use them! My family and friends are my lifeline. We exercise together, eat together, pray together and drink together—not necessarily in any certain order.