Heather Bellisario ( BSc ’08, BEd ’08, MEd ’13) spent more than a decade guiding Brock students as they charted their career course.<\/p>\n
Now, as the University’s new Student Ombuds, she’s offering help in a different capacity.<\/p>\n
In her new role, Bellisario will act as a confidential and neutral resource for the Brock community, where she can help students understand Brock policies and procedures and connect them with on-campus resources and options for resolution.<\/p>\n
With her role overseen by a Joint Advisory Committee and funded by Brock University, the Brock University Students\u2019 Union and the Graduate Students\u2019 Association, Bellisario says she can offer impartial advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents can come to me for anything, including a complaint about something in their courses, help finding resources on campus or for issues related to academic misconduct and appealing a grade,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Having begun her time at Brock as a student in 2003, Bellisario completed a Concurrent Teacher Education degree with the goal of becoming a guidance counsellor. However, the chance to continue interacting with students at the University made her reconsider her path.<\/p>\n
Starting as a recruitment officer, she quickly transitioned to the role of Academic Advisor, which has allowed her to help students chart their academic journeys over the past 13 years.<\/p>\n
Now she is ready to shift from offering advice on students\u2019 academic paths to a more wide-ranging area of focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to helping students understand the policies they may not have been aware of before,\u201d she says. \u201cIn a situation that may be stressful, it can be harder for them to find those resources on their own, and I can give them that extra confidence when it comes to taking their next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n