University Advising Center Staff
Liz Hannabas
Assistant Director
Liz has worked at UT Arlington since 2004. She received her Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree from the University of North Texas. Liz was a member of the Advising Module for the campus MyMav implementation and now does MyMav training for Undergraduate Academic Advisors. Liz worked in the radio industry for ten years and has also worked in Marketing. She has three children—one who is a UT Arlington Alumni; another who is a student in the College of Music.
Eddna Adams
Academic Advisor II
Eddna received a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogota, Colombia. She started working at North Lake College in 2003, first as an ESL/International Student academic advisor and later as an admissions specialist. In 2008, with the opening of the North Lake College satellite campuses, she acquired a new position as an Enrollment Services Representative before joining the University Advising Center in 2011. Her interest include art, design and computer graphics. She enjoys watching movies and spending time with her dogs.
Celestial Barber
Academic Advisor II
Celestial Barber received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Kennesaw State University. After graduating college, Celestial accepted a job teaching English in Spain for their public school system. Upon returning to the United States, she completed her Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish from Georgia Southern University. Celestial worked as a high school Spanish Teacher for three years in Georgia before moving to Texas. Celestial is a Spanish Lecturer at UTA as well as an Academic Advisor. In her free time, she enjoys helping others and going to the gym.
Katie Grooms
Academic Advisor II
Katie received her Bachelor of Arts in History at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and a Masters of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina. Outside of the office, Katie enjoys spending time and watching sports with her family, scrapbooking, and exploring the Arlington area.
Scott Jackson
Academic Advisor II
Scott Jackson earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984. He also worked as a Bartender at “The Dry Gulch” , which was a bar back then. Now the space is occupied by the Shorthorn Newspaper. He has lived in Illinois, Texas, Florida and California. He returned back to UTA in 2008 and earned a Master of Art’s Degree in Sociology. Currently he works as an Advisor and Adjunct Lecture in the Sociology department. He enjoys collecting antiques, vintage photography, travel and foreign films. Scott has worked in the UAC since January 2012.
Tim Kennedy
Academic Advisor II
Tim received a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science in 1992 and a Master of Exercise and Sport Science in 1995 both at Texas State University. Tim worked with the San Antonio Spurs for 6 seasons as a strength coach and was part of the 1999 championship team. He has over twenty years of experience working with high school and college students. Tim is passionate about working with student athletes, students with learning disorders and freshmen students. He enjoys running, snowboarding, watching college football and serving at an orphanage (Musana Children’s Home) in Uganda, Africa.
Elaine Sarmiento Lark
Academic Advisor II
Schedule an appointment to meet with me.
Elaine has come from Texas A&M University as the previous advisor for the Department of Performance Studies. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies at Texas A&M University in 2004 and her Master of Liberal Arts degree with a focus in Music and Theatre Arts at Southern Methodist University in 2008. Outside of academics, Elaine enjoys working with student organizations in development and leadership. Her interests include being active and training for races, watching and participating in sports, learning about different cultures, traveling and all aspects of the performing arts.
Penny Lock
Academic Advisor II
Penny received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Henderson State University and her Master’s Degree in College Student Affairs from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Before coming to the UAC, she worked at Henderson State University in the Center for Student Success as the Academic Probation Coordinator and advisor for 4 years. She enjoys working with college students as they develop academically and socially. She also enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.
Emily Milam
Academic Advisor II
Emily received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology at Jacksonville State University (Alabama) in 2006 and her Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from The University of Alabama in 2008. While at The University of Alabama, she was a graduate assistant in the Office of Academic Retention and worked with first-year students. Upon graduation she entered a grant program through Alabama in which she was stationed at community colleges to assist students with transferring to four-year universities. Emily joined the UAC staff in March 2010. Her interests include music, reading autobiographies, and collecting hippo figurines.
Soyla Santos
Academic Advisor II
Soyla received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art with a concentration in Painting from UT Arlington in 2006. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia with concentrations in painting, printmaking and filmmaking. She worked with the University Advising Center as she pursued her undergraduate degree and upon graduation she accepted a position with the Art and Art History Department. She enjoys recruiting, mentoring and working with first generation students. Soyla joined the UAC staff in August 2011. Her interests include spending time with her daughter, watching Jurassic Park and supporting her favorite MLS team, FC Dallas.
Megan Vargas
Academic Advisor II
Megan obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Southwest Texas State University in 2000. She started working at Texas State University-San Marcos (formerly Southwest Texas State University) in 2002 as the Teacher Certification Officer, and worked in this position for 6 years. She is married and has one child. Megan enjoys spending time with her family, music, cooking, gardening, reading, and watching her son grow and develop. She loves working with college students and helping them realize their potential.
Lynne Von Roeder
Academic Advisor II
Lynne joined the UAC in 2006. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from TCU in 1981 and her Masters of Education in Counseling from TCU in 2006. Lynne spent 17 years in the world of business, first owning her own restaurant and then in the world of corporate foodservice. During that time, she worked with a local Austin school on a grant project for underprivileged students. As a result of that she received a Presidential Commendation for Environmental Youth Education from Bill Clinton in 1995. This caused Lynne to further investigate the world of education and she began teaching at a school for students with learning differences in 1997. When the school decided to add a high school, she went back to TCU to get her masters in educational counseling. She served as the high school, college, and career counselor until May of 2005. After her graduate internship in the Career Services Center at TCU, she decided to pursue advising and counseling in the higher education arena. Lynne now serves as the lead advisor working with students in exploring and changing majors. She has a 25 year old son who is a student here at UT Arlington, and she loves to read, garden, and travel.
Sarah Riley
Academic Advisor I
Sarah earned a B.A. in Art History from UT Arlington in 2008. While completing her degree, she worked on campus for the Office of Undergraduate Recruitment. After graduation, she worked at Apple for a year before returning to work for UT Arlington's University Studies program in Fall 2009. Her interests include music, art, reading, bike riding, and her dog Arthur.
David Sutton
Support Specialist II
David has worked on campus for nearly 10 years. He moved from the University Advising Center from the Undergraduate Admissions Office in August of 2007. He knows quite a bit about the inner workings of the University and has friends in many different departments. His interests are indie music, games of chance, reading fiction, and movies. He has always been fascinated with ancient cultures, so games, movies or books pertaining to past civilizations are where he finds the most enjoyment. David is currently working on his bachelor's degree in Anthropology at UT Arlington.