Student Support: 5 Ways We Help You Succeed While at DeVry

By DeVry University

February 27, 2020

5 min read

As a student, you can breathe a certain sigh of relief knowing that you’re supported by the professors and community around you. Suddenly, homework assignments feel more like a team effort. You know who to message with last-minute questions. You feel supported in your challenges and understood in your goals.

This is precisely the kind of student support Geraldine Guinto discovered while earning her bachelor’s degree in Technical Management with a Human Resources Management specialization, all while working a full-time job. How did she do it? With the right student care.

From her first class at DeVry, Guinto partnered with a student support advisor, Allison De La Garza, and a career services advisor, Jenny Mleko, to map out her goals. Together, they formed Guinto’s very own student care team dedicated to helping Guinto walk the stage on time, pursue her career and minimize stress along the way. To accomplish this, Guinto took advantage of several benefits DeVry offers, including:

1. Student Care Across the Entire Academic Journey—not Just One Class

One of the unique aspects of learning at DeVry is that student support doesn't start with one campus visit or class—it extends across the student’s complete academic experience.

"My admissions representative helped me through the entire enrollment process. She gave me information about the human resources program I was interested in and helped me tailor the program to my needs," Guinto says. "[And my] student support advisor was in my corner from day one."

When advising students, De La Garza says she and her colleagues "make an effort to walk the journey with the student, so it's not just a student who comes in and is going to take classes and get a degree," she explains."I try to get to know the student by listening, figuring out what their motivation is for starting and then bonding with them over that."

2. Dedicated Student Support and Career Services Advisors

Need support that goes beyond personal calendars or reminders on your phone? That's where the energy of a real-life student care team comes in.

Often, Guinto said she relied on Mleko and De La Garza to stay motivated during moments when her to-do list seemed overwhelming. As a student support advisor, De La Garza helped Guinto arrange class schedules and study plans. Other times she’d simply call to check on her the way a friend would.

"She checked in with me at least once a week, checking in about my personal life, my work life and, of course, my classes. And I could tell she really cared," Guinto says. "Same with [Mleko], I love how upbeat she is! To me, that positive vibe is contagious. One of the reasons I loved working with them is their positive attitudes and the care they provided."

3. Online and Hybrid Learning Options That Fit Your Busy Schedule

From a digital course platform and mobile app to e-tutoring and e-library resources, when it comes to extending student support online, Guinto agrees: DeVry "gets it."

"What stood out about DeVry when looking for higher education is that they offer hybrid or online classes for adults who are interested in taking classes while having a full-time job," she says. "And I don't have a consistent schedule. It keeps changing every week, so I chose DeVry because I was able to work around my schedule and plan according to when I can do my discussion posts, work on my quizzes, study and do homework."

Having such nimble online learning options, Guinto says, helped her feel as if DeVry's student support extended beyond the classroom to wherever life would take her that day.

4. Personalized Career Support

One of the best perks to leveraging a career services advisor at DeVry is personal branding, says Mleko, who helped Guinto build her personal brand in human resources and prepare for potential job opportunities after DeVry.

"We talked about her background, her experience and ultimately what her career goal was, and that was to work in human resources," Mleko says. "We spent a lot of time getting to know each other. I wanted to make sure she felt comfortable with me because we were going to be working very closely together, and I wanted to support her every step of the way."

Guinto recalls that she felt motivated in her career goals, particularly as graduation approached and she began searching for a job. "I was near graduation," Guinto says. "And my career services advisor helped me create a professional resume, build my LinkedIn profile and coached me for upcoming interviews. I really felt supported as I looked ahead to starting my new career."

5. 24-7 Student Support at Your Fingertips

Whether she worked full time or late nights, Guinto understood that she could always tap into a community—in person or online—that would be willing to meet her student care needs.

Looking for tips before a job interview? She could call Mleko or log into Hire DeVry 2.0 for 24-7 resources. Connecting with a professor during finals? She could video chat or email. Have a question about graduation and class credits? De La Garza was one text away.

"From my first experience to the last, I felt cared for and supported by the team at DeVry," says Guinto. "I think that kind of student-focused support is rare, and it's one of the reasons I'm proud to say I'm a DeVry grad."