Jillean Harris

Jillean Harris knows that self-understanding and integrity are not character traits — they are processes you keep choosing.

Jillean has always had an instinct for identifying unmet needs. She is passionate about understanding the unique ways in which we each experience life, and she strives to help others feel seen and supported.

She serves as a peer assistant for learning at Cook Counseling and an intern for the Dean of Students office. She previously served as a peer educator for Hokie Wellness.

In her Dean of Students role, she is a lifeline for students experiencing crises. She regularly answers phone calls from students who may be facing serious mental health concerns, or who have experienced a death in family, or who might be scared of failing all their classes because they've been sick for three weeks straight.

While it would be perfectly acceptable — and even expected — for Jillean to take a student’s information and pass it off to a professional staff member, she listens to each student with empathy and kindness, letting them know that they will receive the help they need.

Her nominator said, “She guides students with an adeptness that we would normally expect from a professional with a master's degree and years of experience as a social worker.”

Jillean's values of curiosity, honesty, and accountability have shaped her into the person she is today.

She said, “There were plenty of moments in college where continuing felt genuinely uncertain, but I showed up, just as I was. I saw things in new lights, from new perspectives, leaned toward accountability, and rebuilt with more intention than I had ever known before.”

When she needs to reconnect with herself, she turns to community. She said, “Being around people who will notice when I'm drifting and say so, and who will let me do the same for them, is one of the most grounding things I know.”

Jillean is a senior double-majoring in psychology in the College of Science and human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

She is minoring in adaptive brain and behavior in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. After graduation, she will take a gap year to prepare for doctoral training in clinical psychology, focused on neurodevelopment and early identification of mental health risk.

For channeling her resilience into empathetic service, Student Affairs is proud to present the Aspire! Award for Pursue Self-understanding and Integrity to Jillean Harris.