Morningside College recently announced the hiring of four new first-year advisers. They assist students in the Krone Advising Center, a new building on campus.

Beth Boettcher	Katie Hodgden	Heather McFarland	Alex Watters

Morningside College recently announced the hiring of four new first-year advisers. They assist students in the Krone Advising Center, a new building on campus.

This year Morningside started a new advising program where full-time, professional advisers focus on meeting the needs of first-year students. From summer registration all the way through to declaring a major, the first-year advisers work with students to lay the groundwork for a successful and gratifying college experience. Later in their college careers, once the students have identified their goals and declared a major, they will transfer to a faculty adviser.

The first-year advisers are Beth Boettcher, Katie Hodgden, Heather McFarland and Alex Watters. They report to Lillian Lopez, the new vice president for advising.

Boettcher has experience as a teacher and coach, and as an assistant to a college wellness coordinator. She most recently served as a manager of Jolly Time Koated Kernels. Boettcher has a master’s degree from South Dakota State University in Brookings.

Hodgden previously worked in the counseling and student personnel department at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She taught the course “Decision Making for Career and Life” and served as a first-year student academic adviser in the summer of 2013. She has a master’s degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

McFarland previously was an assistant professor of communication at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark. She has more than 12 years of teaching and advising experience in higher education. McFarland has a doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Watters has experience as a public speaker and as an intern with the U.S. Department of Education. He most recently worked for Morningside helping make sure high-risk students were successful and promoting campus-based civic engagement. Watters has a master’s degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.