Emily Bahr found the perfect career fit at UNK, where she could blend her love for math and desire to help college students succeed.
“I chose math for my undergraduate degree because it’s fun and fascinating to me, but I never saw myself doing math as a full-time job,” she said. “I’m so curious about how people learn, not just in the classroom but in other experiences, too, and that led me to student affairs. Finding the path to connect math with student affairs took some time, though. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure where I fit for a while. I thought I would have to pick exclusively math or student affairs.”
Bahr earned a bachelor’s degree in math from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a master’s degree in college student personnel from Western Illinois University. After graduate school, she worked at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois, for a couple years, serving as director of student activities and new student orientation and as a residence hall director.
But, “I couldn’t get past the fact that math is a significant obstacle to graduation for some students,” she said.
That’s when she decided to take classes as a part-time graduate student and work at two math tutoring centers – one for K-12 students and another at a university in St. Louis.
When she found the job description for an assistant director of the Learning Commons at UNK, she was excited. It listed qualifications for both a master’s degree in student affairs and a math and science background – a combination she didn’t often see in job postings. Bahr started the position in 2019 and has since been promoted to director of Tutoring and Academic Support within the Loper Success Hub.
Describe your role as director of Tutoring and Academic Support:
I oversee a variety of academic support programs, including subject tutoring, writing tutoring, supplemental instruction and others. I’m currently working with my colleagues to design a new semester-long program called the Loper Success Academy that will start in the fall. This new program will expand on the success of the former Trailblazer Academy, and it will put success coaching in a prominent role. Finally, I’m working with both faculty and staff colleagues to incorporate academic skills into the new LOPR 101 first-year seminar.
What services does your office offer?
Our primary services are subject tutoring for several 100- and 200-level courses in math, science, business and foreign language, writing tutoring for any class and success coaching to help students build strong academic habits. However, Tutoring and Academic Support is just one part of the Loper Success Hub. The Hub also offers Academic Advising and Career Development, Disability Services for Students, TRIO Student Support Services, Kearney Bound Scholars and First-Gen Support.
Why should students take advantage of these services?
There’s plenty of evidence to show that students who are connected to support services are more likely to perform well academically and persist toward graduation. If you’re a student reading this, I would tell you that the Loper Success Hub is a place where you belong. Everyone here believes in your success, and we have so many tools to support you. Even if you don’t think you need academic support, come check us out anyway. You may find that we offer something you didn’t know about. For example, we have a skeleton model for health science students. You also could find your new favorite place to study with whiteboard tables, or you might make some new friends. There’s really no downside to giving the Loper Success Hub a try.
What is your favorite part of the job?
The people I work with. When I was a new professional searching for jobs, my mom’s advice to me was, “The work you do is not as important as the people you do it with.” The students I support, my colleagues in the Loper Success Hub and the faculty and staff I collaborate with across campus make UNK a great place to work. I’m grateful to be surrounded by supportive people who let me be myself and motivate me to do my best.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I ride my bike. I’d describe myself as a recreational long-distance cyclist. That means I’m not interested in being fast or competitive; I prefer long rides that give me plenty of time to think and mentally recharge but also test my physical endurance. My favorite distance is anything between 50-100 miles. Some of my most memorable rides have been rail-to-trail paths like the Mickelson Trail and Katy Trail, Utah’s national parks and various places in Colorado.
