September 18, 2024

Navigating your way through college is not always easy. Picking the right classes while staying on schedule for graduation can be challenging. Many individuals don’t have someone guiding them and helping pave the way for the future, and others simply have too much pride to ask for help. This is where amazing academic advisors like the School of Education’s David Appleton, come into play. Appleton is beloved by his students, and it may be because he knows what it is like to be an education major. He holds a teaching license in elementary education along with special education and reading specialist certifications, not to mention an infectious positive outlook on how to lead students toward success.

Appleton, a 22-year veteran of Drexel, started his career as a front office coordinator for the School of Education. From there, he was promoted to academic advisor. Today, he is the assistant director for undergraduate affairs where he not only advises students but oversees all facets of undergraduate programs. He learned early on that advising is a very front-facing job. He believes that that if the students are there in-person, he should be too, to give them the best experience possible. He says, “University system has become a very different, large, complex system with nuanced processes that no student or parent can ever be prepared for,” and he strives to be there every step of the way whether that is helping students to explore majors and minors, aiding in academic success, or just being someone they feel comfortable talking to.

Appleton’s favorite part of being an advisor is simple, “working with students and exposing them to things”, he says. “It’s almost like gardening, you start with a lot of potential and aren’t sure if it’ll turn into a tree.” His goal is to, “push them to try things they hadn’t thought of before,” this is his way of helping them reach their full potential. “I don’t want them to wish they knew about something I didn’t teach them,” he said.

Appleton’s years of experience have helped shape him into the accomplished advisor he is today. “I have two sons; I want to be the academic advisor that I want for them if they go to college. I want to be the advisor that I think is right.”