Who will be my advisor next semester? It is that time again.

My G3 group with Gale Jackson

My G2 group with Ju-Pong Lin

My G1 group with Judy Hiramoto

It is that time again.

Returning students are looking at the MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program Arts Faculty and picking their top three choices for advisors for next semester.

We have all been waiting patiently for the form to come into our inbox. MENTAL NOTE: 1 month before residency the form came to my inbox.

This form has several drop down menus. It asks you for your first, second and third choice for your advisor for next semester. It also states... There are no guarantees.

Picking an advisor seems very difficult. It is even more difficult for returning students coming back after their first semester. There is really very little time to get to know other faculty members. My suggestion for new students is to go to the presentations at residency by the advisors.

They say it is advisable to try and talk to someone at campus to see if they would be a good fit. Frankly, that seems almost impossible. Residency is so very busy, and the faculty seem just as busy. Of course, you can find some at the fire in the evning or in the music room at night, but not all hang out after hours.

If there is someone you would like most are welcome to a phone call. Email them first and say you are interested. Pam Hall video chatted with me last semester. It was very helpful. Getting the "right" advisor is more than just finding someone who works in your discipline. That for me would be impossible because no one really works in either of my disciplines.

It is about chemistry. Each advisor is different, their tactics are different, the way the work with their students are different. That is something to try and find out when looking for an advisor. Who do you think you might be able to work with? If you need a push, then who might push you? If you are looking for more laid back and support, who might be that for you? Asking other students helps, but remember each opinion is really that—an opinion. You might work really well with an advisor and I might not work well with them at all.

I have heard of some students not picking an advisor and kind of going with the "luck of the draw." Hmm, not sure I would want to do that.

We won't find out who we will get until Sunday at residency. It is posted on the bulletin board and everyone hovers around the board in anticipation, wondering who their instructor is and who is in their group. Sorry new G1's advisors are picked for you.

My advisor this past residency was Gale. This semester is really my last choice for an advisor because I will go back to Judy for my graduating semester. She was my first advisor in my G1.

My choice for advisor for this residency is Rick Benjamin. Looking at the advisor list I also liked Kira, as I see she has worked with novels before. I have always liked Erica and felt I had to choose a third.

But I wrote this in the section where it said, "Please enter additional information as needed from the above question."

This semester will be a very full semester. I am working in two different areas and I am looking for an advisor that can support me in each direction.

I wrote a novel at the end of last semester. This is my first fiction piece. Up to this point I have been a non-fiction writer. I would really like to go through the entire novel with my advisor (12 chapters) and do revision based on “showing” not telling. In light of this, I really need someone who is good with words, and can assist me with this. I would also hope that the person chosen would be sensitive to the subject, as it is a Christian Young Adult novel.

Part two of my semester is again “showing not telling” but this time working on illustration. This is a huge gap in my personal practice as I have many children’s books that I have written but cannot get them published without illustrations. This semester I would like to explore different illustration styles.

My hope is that I can find an advisor that will be willing to work on both projects with me to have a very full body of work, and achieve these two goals in my “last” working semester before creating my portfolio.

As I don't really know all of the faculty very well I will defer to the selection committee to choose which is best for me. I have always liked Rick's work and feel we could work good together. I have chosen Kira, as I see she has worked with writing as well, but I don't know her and am not sure I have ever met her to know if our personalities click. I chose Erica because I needed to pick a third. Please help me with this decision. Thanks.

I guess now I need to take my own advice and perhaps try to contact Kira to see if we might be a good fit. I do trust the judgment of Jackie our administrator.