Face in the Crowd

In the life of a college student, chaos and disarray go hand in hand. With the stresses of everyday life and the additional load of school work weighing on one’s shoulders, finding people like Adele Ressler is nothing short of an absolute blessing.

Ressler, the Director of Advisement and Scheduling in the Education Department, has been serving Eastern graduate students now for approximately 12 years.

While trying to successfully complete classes and form a plan for their future teaching careers, education majors have found great comfort in the advice and direction given by Ressler. Her roles include setting up and outlining a program of study for those wishing to receive teaching certification, as well as developing a class schedule that will meet their needs and provide the credit needed to move on.

Over the years, her responsibilities have grown from just business advising, to education advising and eventually overseeing scheduling for the graduate students.

One might be surprised that counseling is not initially part of her background. Having received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and education certification not long after, Ressler started her career teaching social studies in a Christian missions school in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Upon her return to the States, Ressler continued to teach, this time in public high schools in local places like Springfield, Haverford and Garnet Valley.

After taking a break to raise her children some years later, she resumed teaching once again by joining the Homebound Schooling program which allowed her to tutor local students who struggled with illness, injury or pregnancies that kept them from attending regular classes.

It was at this time that she obtained a part time job in Eastern’s graduate program advising in business, counseling and education. As the job at Eastern began to develop, Ressler soon found herself needing a full time position to complete the work, and eventually made her way into the position she currently holds.

Despite the occasional difficulty in putting together schedules on time, Ressler enjoys helping students and seeing them succeed. “I think it’s really the education background that helps,” Ressler said. “It’s really just knowing the certification process. I’ve been through it and I can relate.”

Being able to connect to students in such a way has enabled Ressler to give the students the information they need to succeed. “Seeing the excitement of students is very rewarding,” Ressler said. “It’s really nice to help them and be able to answer their questions.”