Polk’s Associate Dean of Student 服务 Yulonda Bell Has Built a Career on Putting Students First

It’s a weekday morning and Yulonda Bell has agreed to be interviewed about her new position as Polk State 冬天还’s associate dean of student services.

But sitting down and talking about herself — frankly, she has more important things to do.

“I have a mom on the phone who has some questions about her daughter’s financial aid status. Just wait a few minutes,” Bell says as she hurries out the door.

It’s that selfless dedication to students — who has time to be interviewed when there’s a FAFSA 在地狱? — that has carried Bell through her 16-year rise at 澳门新葡京博彩 and will serve her well in her new job, 她从9月开始. 29.

尤隆达喜欢澳门新葡京博彩, 但最重要的是, 她喜欢为学生服务,” said Polk State 冬天还 Dean of Student 服务 Saul Reyes. “She is very steady in her service to students; she never wavers. 她也很冷静和善良, and I think students know that when she says she’s going to help them, 她真的会的.”

作为事业和生活, 就此而言，要有自己的做法, Bell’s took twists and turns that must have seemed random at the time, 但正是这些成就了她今天的成就.

她在巴托出生长大. 她父亲在磷矿工作. Her mother worked as an administrative assistant for an insurance company.

“我有一个典型的童年. 我的父母工作. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had enough, and we had each other,贝尔说.

成长的过程中, 贝尔和她哥哥经常在学校玩耍, and it was in those early games that her interest in education first emerged.

“我一直都是老师，”她说. 在主日学校, I watched my teachers and learned a lot from them, and knew immediately I was going to be a teacher. 我只是觉得我可以教给别人一些东西.”

Bell’s interest in teaching was reinforced through her school years, especially by her senior English teacher and guidance counselor at 巴托 High School.

“They saw potential in me and knew I was going to make something out of my life,”她说。.

By the time she graduated from high school, Bell was already a mother to a young son. She got her diploma and went right to work providing for her baby.

Her first job in education was as a paraprofessional at a 巴托 elementary school, where she was often assigned to work with students sent to in-school suspension.

“我会和他们坐在一起，和他们聊天. I took an interest in what was going on with them,贝尔说.

Bell eventually left the public school system to take a job as an administrative assistant for what is now called the state’s Department of Children and Families. This move meant detouring from her interest in education, but also a bigger salary for her son and the chance to help children in a totally new way.

“I got to see abuse from a different perspective,贝尔说. “At the school, I had seen the behavior that often results from trouble at home. When I left (for the administrative assistant position), 我看到孩子们被虐待, 但是从另一个角度. I would often clean them up after they came to us. I would give them hugs and try to tell them it would be OK.”

In 1998, Bell joined the staff at Polk as an administrative assistant for the 健康科学 项目. Here she found a place to grow, and a place where she could return to her interest in education.

“Not only had I worked with children who came from less-than-ideal circumstances, 但是作为一个单身妈妈, 作为一个非传统的学生, I’ve been able to relate to many of our students in very personal ways,贝尔说.

“他们中的许多人都面临着巨大的挑战, 要么是因为之前的学业问题, 或者试图平衡学校和家庭. 我理解这些事情.”

她从行政助理晋升, 波尔克州立莱克兰的注册助理, to her most recent promotion — Bell said she found students were really looking for only one thing: “They just want someone to listen to them,”她说。. “Having someone listen, and maybe getting a little advice, can carry them a long way.”

While she was listening to students and climbing the ranks at Polk State, 贝尔也在推进自己的教育.

她收到了 文科副学士 波尔克大学的学位，并继续到 华纳大学 for her bachelor’s degree in organizational management and 韦伯斯特大学 为了她的管理和领导硕士学位.

In attaining her degrees, Bell became the first in her family to graduate from college. The younger of her two sons, Deonté, is following her example as a student in Polk’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration.

在她的新职位上，贝尔接替 西尔维斯特的小, who was recently named dean of student services at the 莱克兰 campus. Bell oversees four academic advisers and a student services specialist.

Though her career didn’t take her where she thought she wanted to go, it has led her right where she wants to be — to a position where she can make a difference for the students who come to her for help.

“在我目前的职位上, 我帮助学生, and I believe I help more students than I would in the classroom. I see different students all day, every day, and I get to contribute to their success,” said Bell.

“我和我的员工是为学生而来的. 我们是来倾听的. We’re here to help them get past whatever obstacles they’re facing. 我们是来帮助他们成功的. 我想不出比这更好的工作了.”

At Polk State 冬天还, Bell’s office is located in WAD 176.