By Erica Thompson -

Since 2008, Tabitha Bronsema has taken classes at the University of Washington, working toward undergraduate and graduate degrees. Now she is the program coordinator for the UW Department of Communication, replacing Diana Smith, who retired after 16 years in the Advising Office.

Tabitha Bronsema is usually the first person students see when they come into the Advising Office. Photo by Erica Thompson.

Originally from San Diego, Bronsema moved around before moving to Washington state with her son. She started college at what was then Bellevue Community College, where she received her associate’s degree with a concentration in communication. She transferred to the UW, majoring in American Indian Studies and Communication.

Bronsema was excited about being accepted to the UW for graduate school for a variety of reasons.

“I saved a lot of money on sweatshirts, which is great because I always wanted to be a Husky growing up,” Bronsema joked.

Now finishing up her Master of Arts in Communication at the UW, Bronsema did her assistantship in the Advising Office for two quarters and “fell in love.”

As a graduate student advising assistant she did more actual advising with students, where “now I’m doing sort of the day-to-day stuff that keeps it all glued together,” Bronsema said.

But that doesn’t keep her from interacting with students.

“When I was a TA I absolutely loved working with students and that’s why I wanted this position and to work in the Advising Office,” Bronsema said. “I love our students and I have such a great love for the Department as well because it has really nurtured me through undergrad and all the way up to grad.”

Bronsema relates to the students that come into the Advising Office and empathizes with them.

“I’ve been in the students’ shoes before and I know that scary process of not getting the classes you want or not understanding how credits are working out,” Bronsema said. “Being here when they’re stressed and then being here when they’re really happy when they fill out that graduation audit…That’s what I’m most stoked about.”

Apart from aiding students, Bronsema is excited about revamping the Advising Office in more ways than one.

“Not only are we going to be remodeling the actual room, but we’re going to actually be remodeling some of the things we do,” Bronsema said. “So we’re trying to look toward having a lot more things happen online.”

Bronsema is hoping to get scheduling, advising appointments, the application for the major and scholarship processes all online to bring everything into the 21st century to better reach students.

“Change can be kind of scary as well as exciting,” Bronsema said. “So in many ways the challenge is that we just want to get going really fast, but we have to sort of slow down.”