Spotlight on Tailyn Walborn
Tell me about your background and what led you to advising students today?
I went to a small school for undergrad that didn't really have advisors like we do here at Miami. There were faculty advisors we had to meet to approve our schedule, but they weren’t student services focused. I was a first generation college student, so I went through school taking the classes I needed to finish my degree, but then I found myself with a bachelor's degree in biology and not knowing what to do or how to get a job.
While in grad school at Case Western Reserve University, I met with a career advisor who gave me some direction in my life and made me realize that there should be better resources for students so that they don't spend four years and $100,000 just to be lost. That’s when I decided that I wanted to work in higher education and be that person!
What do you like about working at Miami and at the Mallory-Wilson Center?
Everybody knows Miami's campus is beautiful, and it feels like a community -- you can go outside and enjoy the atmosphere but also know you’re 40 minutes away from major cities. Since the day of my Miami interview I've always thought it was a very welcoming environment and campus. Whether it be students or employees, someone is always willing to give you help if you need it.
Working at the Mallory-Wilson Center is great because I like to come up with new ideas to reach students. We're funded and supported by alumni, so we have more flexibility. If I’m interested in focusing on networking or the mental health of our students, the alumni are excited and want to see a proposal.
Having worked at multiple institutions, what are some common and outstanding traits you have seen in Miami students?
I am just blown away by Miami students! They start nonprofits on their own, they travel to different countries to shadow and help in poor clinics, and they understand that wanting to work in healthcare doesn't mean that you just help people, it means there's something connecting them to those people. Miami students find what their passion is, and they run with it. I don’t know how they balance everything with school!
What can we expect to see in the future from the Mallory-Wilson Center?
I am in the process of working on a larger project that focuses on the mental health of pre-health students. I see a lot of students who have stress and anxiety or depression, and there is proven documentation that if they don't address it while an undergrad, it will follow them into medical school and worsen. Therefore, that's a big thing I hope to focus on. We want to help with not only the professional development side of things, but also the self-care aspect.
[October 2019]
