Arts and Sciences | Lion Voices01/01/2021

Advising for Success with Journi Goforth

Written By: Ian Silvester

A little more than a year into her role as an academic advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, Journi Goforth recognized the challenges students face.

“It can be very easy to not fully understand where you need to go or what courses best align with what you want to do,” Goforth said.

However, meeting with an advisor like Goforth, she said, ensures that students are “checking all the boxes and doing everything (they’re) hoping to get done in a timely manner.”

Before UAFS hired her full-time, Goforth began as an intern for the CAS advising team. She was attending Arkansas Tech University during her master’s degree program for student affairs administration.

She began advising full-time at the CAS Advising Center in August 2023 and graduated from Tech in May 2024.

However, Goforth will be the first to admit that this wasn’t a path she envisioned.

As a first-generation student, she began her college career at Arkansas Tech, earning her bachelor’s degree in English education and creative writing education.

“One of the most difficult aspects of being a first-generation student is that you don’t even know what questions to ask or where to start,” she said, relating her experience as a student to the help she received and now, in turn, gives back.

With plans to become a secondary education teacher, Goforth said she had her “entire life planned out,” but during her classroom internship, she had second thoughts. This internship was where she found herself not knowing what to ask or where to go next.

She knew she loved working with students but realized she wasn’t as happy with the direction she was headed as she could have been. Then came a meeting with her own advisor.

“I started speaking with one of my advisors who asked, ‘Have you ever considered being an advisor?’ Because I told her how I really liked working with students individually. I wanted to help them grow and succeed. I felt like it made a more meaningful impact. I couldn’t believe I had never considered being an advisor before then because it was exactly what I was looking for,” she said.

Now, she won’t say this is for everyone, but it is a personal story she can share with students who might also realize they want something different from what they set out to do initially.

“We can really get those blinders on and think, ‘This is the path I’m on.’ When you’re young, nobody says, ‘Have you ever thought about blank?’” Goforth said.

After shedding her blinders, Goforth saw she made the right choice in UAFS and advising.

“I have no plans of going anywhere else. I’m very happy with where I am,” she said proudly. "Each day, each semester, I know the students a little bit more and a little bit more, and I’m excited to see where they go.”

Goforth believes in her holistic approach to advising – understanding a student’s background, where they come from, where they want to go, and other external factors – to connect and see each student succeed.

“You’re not just helping them get to graduation. You’re helping them beyond graduation,” she said. “You want to be there to assist them in gaining confidence and independence. Even after you graduate, you are going to be learning for the rest of your life, and college is the best place to get all of those skills that you need to be successful.”

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• Tags:
• Academic Advising
• College of Arts and Sciences
• CAS Advising Center