Stories

John B. Drahmann Advising Award
In recognition of having established among colleagues and students a well-deserved reputation for extraordinary dedication to student welfare through wise, informed, effective, and caring counsel, and having demonstrated the ability to motivate other teachers and learners.

Sharmila Lodhia knows this campus inside and out. She began her SCU career as an undergraduate, returned as a postdoctoral fellow, became a tenured professor, and now serves as a department chair. She offers the insight gained from her experience to a wide range of students who benefit from her advice, enthusiasm, and support.

Sharmila brings a rare mix of kindness, joy, cheer, and energy to everything she does. She understands and helps students overcome even their unspoken challenges, centering the voices of those silenced by structures of power and privilege. Her door is open to all, and she plays a particularly important role in mentoring countless numbers of women of color on campus. As an advocate for justice on campus, she mentors not only in one-on-one interactions with students, but also in the most difficult conversations we have as a community, modeling to and with students how to create a more just world.   

Sharmila counsels students through their academic programs, career choices, and personal struggles, but she also helps them to imagine possibilities for research and careers beyond what they thought they were capable of pursuing. Her warm, caring communication style combined with her razor sharp mind empowers our students to believe in themselves as bold young feminists. She learns about students' families, their experiences at SCU, their dreams, and their struggles. She offers students academic and non-academic support, all with a warm laugh and a huge heart.

For her generous and inspiring work as an advisor and mentor, I am proud to present Sharmila Lodhia with the Dr. John B. Drahmann Advising Award.