Dr. alison ivey

Alison Ivey
Wise Counsel for Students
Staff: DC AAT Advisor
April 2020

Dr. Alison Ivey works for Life University as a Doctor of Chiropractic Alternative Admissions Track (AAT) Advisor in the Academic Advising Department. The part of LIFE’s Lasting Purpose she connects with most is ‘To Serve.’ “I am trying to take advantage of everything the campus has to offer, so I went through Compassionate Integrity Training, and I am in VitalU and the Master’s in Positive Psychology program so that I can absorb everything and better be able to live the philosophy of the campus.”

Ivey is originally from Georgia in the middle of the state. She has moved around from Georgia to Tennessee to Alabama and back to Georgia because of her career.

Ivey has two daughters, her 10-year-old named Sutton and a 6-year-old named Riley. “My parents also live with me as well, so I get to raise my children and take care of my parents at the same time. It’s really good because of the multi-generational aspects, so my parents are able to talk about their lives growing up and what life was like back then.” Ivey shared. “It does get challenging all the time to find space in the house so each individual can be alone if they want to.”

Ivey started working at LIFE in July 2019. She had worked in Huntsville at Virginia College and then did a few odd jobs while working on her Doctorate in Adult Education from Capella. Her doctorate is what brought her to LIFE since the job she applied for required her to have a doctorate. “I’d applied to a few places, and I got an interview two weeks later. I actually thought I bombed the phone interview, and they called back to do the second interview in person and then offered me the job.” Ivey shared. “It was very quick, and I hadn’t done advising before, but I had taught academic classes and was an academic dean at a career college.”

Academic Advising is a collaborative educational process whereby students and their advisors are partners in meeting to plan their educational career, develop skills needed for academic success and learn how to connect with additional on-campus resources. In addition, students can meet with their advisors for letters of recommendation, registration concerns, internships, schedule adjustments and hold removal.

“Most of my job is making sure students are registered for the right classes the last few weeks of each quarter. We each have 120 to 150 students on our caseload.” Ivey said. “Week 1 is also really important because that is the add-drop period.” Ivey reaches out to the students that need extra help and reminds them to go to SI sessions, tutoring and to utilize the resources we have on campus. “So, I have some students I check in with often to make sure they know I am available in case they need me, and I have other students I only see at the end of each quarter. I am making sure they have all the tools they need to be successful.”

Ever since she started at LIFE, she’s felt at home. “This is the most positive campus I have ever worked on or for, and that was one of the things when I first started that was so interesting to me. Everyone enjoyed working on campus and working together.” Ivey said. “The whole viewpoint of Vitalism has just been incredible, and I have never experienced that before.”

In my free time I love to go to movies. My mom and I are really big movie buffs. I like to read, and I like to travel. Most of the free time is taken up with the girls. Sutton plays volleyball, so on weekends we are usually at volleyball games, and Riley does gymnastics and soccer. But usually in my free time it’s just doing stuff with them like going to the farmers market or going outside on the weekends since my week is so busy.

One of the other AAT Advisors told me that her parents had always talked about traveling and had been saving up, but her mom got really sick and passed away, and they never got to go on their trips. That really affected me and made me realize I’d rather make memories of exploring new things instead of spending money on material things.

For current students, Ivey recommends maintaining balance between school, work, family life and friends. “It is important to remember that it is okay to not do anything on a Saturday afternoon except sleep and watch movies.” You need that rest to recharge to be able to function your best. “Some of my students just want to go all the time, and it isn’t sustainable. I have to give advice like ‘you probably shouldn’t try and take 35 credits a quarter.’ Your body cannot take it.”

“When I talk to new students coming in, I say you just won’t believe the vibe that we have on campus. It is so good and positive and uplifting, and I am trying to contribute to that vibe.” Ivey said. “We are a part of something really good on this campus that I hope we don’t take for granted. It is a really good place to be.”

 

 

 

 

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