August 26, 2024

Graduate Student Life Advisor Olivia Hopewell joined the Graduate School on July 8 to support graduate students in problem solving, connecting with campus resources, and becoming self-advocates.

Learn more about Hopewell’s background, goals, and interests in the following Q&A.

What is your educational and professional background?

I have a B.A. in classics and philosophy from Augustana University in South Dakota, and received my M.A. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College in the field of Latin, Greek, and classical studies in 2019 and 2023, respectively. I’ve worked as an assistant registrar, non-profit domestic violence educator, and an adjunct professor (including for Cornell’s Prison Education Program, which I am continuing to do in the upcoming school year). I have experience advising undergraduate and graduate students in both student life matters and research skills. As a graduate student I established an anti-racism and social justice activism group, and these ideals strongly influence my work. Additionally, I have certification in trauma-informed group facilitation and training in academic conflict resolution. I also started waiting tables at age 11, so let’s just say I’m good at working with even difficult people. 

My own research is broadly concerned with identity formation and ethical engagement with others, and I see these as directly influencing my work with students. I always say that I’m just interested in how to be better at being in the world with others, and what I’ve learned is that it takes a deliberate act of meeting others where they are, so that’s the attitude I bring to this role. Basically, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what makes for a healthy and productive graduate experience. I’m so excited to transfer my advisory, pedagogical, and community-building skills to this position. 

What is your role in the Graduate School?

My role is to foster a healthy student experience by working with members of the Graduate School community, both students and faculty, to address their needs through a blend of case management and program support. That might sound vague, so here are some examples:

For students: this might look like meeting with a graduate or professional student to advise them on “non-academic” matters, help them problem-solve, connect them with campus resources, and support them in self-advocacy. “Non-academic” concerns might include mental health concerns, insurance questions, student-parent accommodations, Student Disability Services (SDS) questions, mentor relationship advice, alt-ac career questions, etc. 

For faculty: this might look like meeting with a faculty member to discuss a specific student-related concern and brainstorm ways to address the concern that honor both policy requirements and human needs. Perhaps there is a concern with the well-being of an advisee—our office can help a faculty member navigate this scenario! 

What excites you about stepping into this position?

In general, my professional interests are driven by a passion for justice and humanity in academia. I thoroughly enjoy working with graduate students and faculty because I think this community’s unique needs are often under-considered in university settings. I am energized by problem-solving and find student support work to be inherently rewarding. I’m thrilled to be joining a team that is passionate about the graduate student experience and strives to treat students and faculty alike as more than disembodied scholars. Not every institution has an office like this, and I mean it when I say that everything excites me about stepping into this position. 

What do you want graduate students to know about meeting with you?

I want to tell students that I am here to listen, I take their concerns seriously, and it is literally my job to try to figure out how to translate university-ese into language that feels accessible and meaningful. I’d love for them to leave my office (or Zoom room) feeling empowered, informed, and heard, and I am well aware that I can’t just tell them I’m a safe space; I have to actively create the conditions that allow for that experience. That’s a commitment I take very seriously!

What are your goals in this position?

My goals are to build off of this office’s work supporting students holistically and helping them navigate the graduate school environment, in all its forms. On a more emotional level, my goal is to create an empowering and humanizing environment, because it is crucial that we as administrators always remember the person behind the academic persona. On my first day, my supervisor, Associate Dean for Graduate Student Life Janna Lamey, shared that she’s motivated by the idea that “information is power,” and I think that’s a nice way to summarize the goals of our office: share information with those who need it so that they feel like they have power over the experience here. 

Can you provide some context to your personal experience in graduate school?

Being a proud first gen+low income (FGLI) scholar raised nowhere near academia, I entered grad school so uninformed. I didn’t know what a conference was, how fellowships worked, or how to build a relationship with an advisor. Needless to say, there was a steep learning curve in figuring out the very basics of “doing graduate school,” which was only exacerbated by complications in my personal life that most folks in their 20s and 30s (the average age-range of graduate students) can relate to. My first couple years were especially rough, and I learned a lot about the university system and students’ options for navigating it. I was lucky enough to have a wonderfully supportive mentor in my doctoral advisor, but even so I know firsthand how stressful funding confusion, academic uncertainty, and mental health concerns are for a graduate student. If you’re going through it and feel embarrassed to ask for help—don’t. Chances are, I’ve been there or know someone who has, and I can help or know someone who can. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

If I’m being honest, I like to shut off because I feel like I was using my brain so much for so long that I appreciate a little idleness. I used to feel a lot of shame for not being hyper-productive all the time, but that just doesn’t fit what my brain likes or how I’ve come to feel about how intellectual growth takes place. A more concrete answer is that I love to hike with my partner and our dog, go camping, read horror novels (especially while camping), make soup, do crossword puzzles, listen to Chappell Roan and silly podcasts, look at my plants, and go thrift shopping.