WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - When you picture an academic advisor's office, what comes to mind?
Stuffed animals?
A string of minion lights?
A candy drawer?
No?
Then you've never been to director of learning services and soccer academic advisor Tanya Foster's office. And if you're wondering where all the decorations came from, look no further than the student-athletes she's worked with throughout the years.
"Everyone has moments where they feel like things are in shambles," said Paige Liebel, a junior on the soccer team. "When I feel like I can't keep going, I go to Tanya! She truly believes in us and gives her absolute all in solving our problems."
Despite the overwhelming number of trinkets Foster has received, she knows the story behind each and every one. Including the first.
"The ostrich came from a football player, about 15 years ago, because I was always sticking my neck into his business," she said. "I never look at them without thinking about the different kids I've had."
Foster describes her academic advising role as the icing on the cupcake. "Students have a campus advisor – they know the majors inside and out. That's the cupcake. I'm the icing on the cake. I'm the secondary advisor who helps take that advice and balances it with the reality of being a student-athlete. Campus advisors know the specialties of the majors. I work in companionship with them."
But Foster's specialty?
Building relationships with her students.
"If they are undecided, I can help them once I get to know their personality better. If they need career counseling, that's probably where I really shine – helping to find their 'thing'. If you have a question and you don't know who to ask, I'm the advisor who will take a text at 10 o'clock at night or a phone call at any time."
For Foster, it's about getting to know each of her student-athletes and figuring out what they need. "My position has set me up to have the opportunity to build strong relationships because when they are crying, they need someone at three in the morning – and if it's not a coach, they're calling me in most cases."
Not only is Foster the soccer academic advisor here at Purdue, but she is also a fan of the sport and has attended her fair share of professional fútbol matches during her stint living in Madrid and Valencia.
At Purdue, you can find her at almost every home game sitting behind one of the goals. "I like to see the action coming at me. I don't switch at the half, because I like to really watch the defense closely one half and watch the offense the other half."
Foster takes her support for the soccer team one step further by hosting a team cookout and bonfire every season at her home, offering an opportunity for the players to unwind from the stress of being a student-athlete. A time-honored tradition that Foster and her husband began with the first year of the soccer program.
But before the fall season starts, new student-athletes meet with Foster before they hit the field. And what do they talk about in their initial meeting?
"I am a big fan of the question of the week," Foster said. "Some of them are silly and some of them are philosophical." But Foster understands that every student adjusts at their own pace. Everyone is a bit different.
"Some of them aren't ready to get to know me right away – which is fine – and some of them practically move in with me right away," she jokes. "I try to get to know them and figure out what they need. Do they need to be pushed? Do they need to be hugged? Some of them only come in for hugs and don't really need much from me."
But it all comes down to this: You have to get to know them to figure out what they need.
And there's no one better than Tanya Foster to do it.