“But fortune arranged for things to go exactly in the opposite direction,” wrote Miguel de Cervantes.
This quote is a particular favorite of Anna Ortiz, an academic advisor at the Kennedy Center. “Life is full of uncertainties,” she explains, “and it especially feels like that for college students. My favorite part of being an academic advisor is helping students figure out how to prepare for those uncertainties, in school and life, no matter what fortune has in store for them.”
Ortiz’s years of service at the Kennedy Center were recently recognized by the university when she was named the BYU Academic Advisor of the Year. Nominees are recommended by other advisors on campus and then evaluated based on a detailed portfolio, which includes letters of recommendation, a statement of how the nominee contributes to the advisement community across campus, and comments from students.
“I feel very grateful to have been selected,” Ortiz said about her award. “There are some great advisors on campus, and it means a lot to me that my fellow advisors felt like I was someone worth recognizing.”
But the recognition did not stop there. Following that honor, Ortiz was asked to submit an application to the Utah Academic Advising Association. The UAA then announced at their annual conference that Ortiz had been named Utah Advisor of the Year for 2021, recognizing her excellent work at the Kennedy Center.
Ortiz has worked in the advisement center for nine years, answering students’ questions, helping them map out their coursework, and connecting them with valuable resources. Additionally, she has worked with several nonprofit organizations as a volunteer, employee, and consultant. She has worked on various projects across five continents, focusing on community development, education, and entrepreneurship. From 2001 to 2003, she served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Barcelona, Spain. Ortiz received a BA in comparative literature and an MPA in nonprofit management and international development in 2009 from BYU.
The Kennedy Center is pleased that Ortiz’s excellent work has been recognized by the advisement community on campus and across the state of Utah, and we appreciate her years of service and her contributions to our center and to the university.
—Erica Bassett and Emily Nelson, 19 January 2021, updated 10 June 2021