In this milestone episode of Adventures in Advising, Matt and Ryan welcome Maureen “Mo” Schafer, Assistant Provost for Academic Advising and Director of the Academic Advising Center at the University of Iowa, for a conversation packed with insight, honesty, and a few beautifully relatable metaphors. From her journey as a first-generation student and former campus tour guide to her leadership in a campus-wide advising self-study, Mo reflects on what it really takes to build student-centered systems that work.

Along the way, she shares what institutions should know before launching major advising change efforts, why implementation always gets a little messier before it gets better, how leadership shows up at every level, and why the heart of advising still lives in one simple act: sitting down with a student and listening. Thoughtful, practical, and full of wisdom for advisors and administrators alike, this episode is a reminder that meaningful change starts with people. 

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