On Friday, March 4th, 2022, Daytona State College celebrated Employee Appreciation Day with all of its outstanding faculty and staff. In one of the college’s essential departments, Academic Advising, advisor Shahzaad Mohammed works with students to pave paths to success.
Growing up in Orlando, surrounded by city life, Mohammed attended Seminole State College, University of Central Florida, and Florida Atlantic University. He earned his Master’s in Business Administration and later became licensed as a Physical Therapist Assistant.
Shahzaad Mohammed has worked with Academic Advising for nearly eight months. Prior to becoming an academic advisor, Mohammed was a part-time mentor for physical therapist assistant programs and a tutor for college Algebra and Spanish at Seminole State College. He said of this time, “I really enjoyed working one-on-one with students, it was amazing.”
Mohammed also spoke about his experiences as an ambassador at Florida Atlantic University, “It was very nice. I would basically talk about my experience going through the program. You tell the students ‘Hey, I’ve been there. It’s okay.’ and letting them know we’re here to help.” As an ambassador, Mohammed helped students create their networks and explore the college’s resources.
In relation to his current role as an academic advisor, he explains that most of his day-to-day is meeting with students about their next steps. “I help students plan out their degree plan, degree path, and career. If students have any questions, we’ll be there on the phone and help navigate the student portal or even register for classes.”
His main goal when meeting with a student is to align their degree plan with the correct classes and match them to their future careers. “From there I break it down into ‘Okay, we know your career plan and your degree, now let’s take those necessary steps and see what courses you need so you can graduate.’”
While his independent work is important in meeting with students, Mohammed explains how collaboration throughout the entire staff is crucial to the department. “With the academic advising team, everything is balanced. I feel like everyone helps, we’re all in it together,” he explains. “From the phone calls, to appointments, down to emails, it’s spread out where everything is manageable. It definitely alleviates all the stress having to see so many students.”
Although the responsibilities of an academic advisor may be demanding at times, Mohammed believes that the satisfaction of helping students far outweighs the challenges. “The feeling that I get when I’ve made an impact, helped a student, and prepared them for their future is very rewarding and fulfilling.”
Mohammed explained how his interactions with others in the past pushed him towards the path of wanting to work in academic advising. “After seeing the people in my life who created an impact when working with students, and seeing the joy that they had, I wanted to be able to experience that too.”
Dr. Michelle Goldys, the director of the Academic Advising department, speaks of her own experiences with Mohammed. Describing him as a “calm and welcoming presence,” Goldys explained that Mohammed is an extremely thoughtful advisor. “He approaches each student with care and genuine support for their educational goals, [always] taking the time to connect with students with the appropriate resource, including walking them there, rather than just referring them.”
Goldys continued, describing the relationships he has made within academic advising. “He has developed great rapport with his fellow advisors, [and] he’s a great team player, supporting his colleagues and assisting [them] without hesitation,” she said.
Mohammed is one of the many individuals who not only go above and beyond for DSC, but he strives to make the campus a place where any student can reach their highest potential.
Laura-Sofia Pagdanganan is a staff writer at InMotion.