Patti Tolar

EDUCATION TOP PRIORITY FOR MAGNER AWARD RECIPIENT

Just as University of Houston seniors look forward to donning their black caps and gowns, Patti Tolar also anxiously awaits commencement.

As the Department of Psychology’s academic adviser, Tolar measures her success by seeing the students she’s counseled complete their degrees.

“Every year, I get much joy from watching students graduate,” said Tolar, staff recipient of this year’s George Magner Staff Excellence Award for Advising. “Sometimes, I have students who have to wait an extra year before they walk across the stage, and I try to work with them to speed that up. My door is always open and I’m always here.”

According to Tolar, education is a vital aspect of everyone’s life and being able to help others in their quest for knowledge makes for a rewarding career.

It also has been conducive to achieving her personal academic goals. Tolar received a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Houston – Clear Lake and a master of science in community and college counseling from Longwood University.

She joined the UH staff in 1997 as an academic advisor for the School of Communication. Since then, she has strived to maintain a sense of familiarity with the changing policies and curricula of UH’s colleges. Such awareness has enhanced Tolar’s ability to effectively guide students through their degree plans and toward success.

“There’s a feeling of pure happiness I get when I see students realize their goals,” she said. “From the moment that I arrived at UH, I could sense that everyone felt this way. There are many graduates who are the first ones in their family to receive degrees. I am able to see this joy firsthand. I couldn’t do that anywhere else.”