Aaron Smith
Student Success Specialist
"Think before you speak. Read before you think.”
I am a liaison between students and the vast available resources here at Texas Tech.
Students can get so lost in the shuffle of balancing academics and personal life.
I'm here to help guide students to success by meeting one on one and giving advice
and help in a friendly, more personal, way.
And while I may be no expert in academics, I am an expert on “people.” I've taken
my decade of experience in customer service in the entertainment industry and learned
to see people in more depth. My most recent job at the Buddy Holly Hall let me meet
thousands of people from all over Texas, sometimes all over the country, and share
in their excitement for a show. Everyone has a life, a passion, and a story worth
hearing. I hope to be a place where students can come and express their genuine selves
to me unafraid of judgement or indifference.
Outside the office I love focusing on new little life experiences and improvements.
A new recipe to cook, a new way to arrange the furniture, a new outfit to wear, a
new city to travel to, and always...always a new restaurant to try.
Stats
.5
Years in Higher Ed.5
Years at TTU
Ask me about:
My personal motto.
Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end.
Who I'd like to swap places with for the day.
Fran Lebowitz. I'd like to, as she describes, be “author famous.” Famous enough to get a table at any restaurant, not famous enough to be harassed while I'm eating.
An amazing TTU resource I've used.
The student counseling center is worth its weight in gold. During my first stressful semester at Tech, I worked long and hard with the wonderful counselors. The techniques I learned there to help manage stress, time, and anxiety are still being used in my professional and personal life today.
What i'd be doing if I wasn't so dang good at my job.
I'd be in the entertainment business. Not so much on the stage, I gave up on the limelight when I realized I couldn't dance or sing. More in front of the house. Interacting with guests, people, fans and fanatics.
My Academic Journey
There's no beating around the bush, I flunked out my first semester at Texas Tech.
And I mean ripped my GPA into shreds. Keep in mind this was in the time before academic
warning or the generally more holistic style TTU takes to academic performance these
days. Call it a lack of preparation on my end, a new town, no friends, no family,
and a support system 300 miles away. Coupled with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy
and dread...and considering all that, I did remarkably well. I found help, support,
and a new major that fit like a glove. Not free of challenges mind you, but a challenge
I was inspired to overcome. A challenge that looked me in the eye and dared me to
do better, threw down the gauntlet, waved the red flag in my face.
And I charged.
Skills
Gift GivingStudent Engagement
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Address
Drane Hall 1st Floor, Box 45020, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.5928 -
Email
studentengagement@ttu.edu