Editor’s Note: In the original publication of this article, Megan Van Heiden was stated to work in the Office of Student Accessibility rather than the Office of Student Assistance. The article has been updated to reflect that. The Iowa State Daily regrets this error.

Iowa State’s Office of Student Assistance has the goal to be a part of student’s journeys to success by providing support and connection.

According to the Student Assistance website, they “seek to create a safer, caring, and enriching environment for all students and members of Iowa State community.” 

Megan Van Heiden, senior assistant director of student assistance, says she feels grateful to be a part of this student service at Iowa State.

“I want every single student here to know that there’s at least one person here that cares about them,” Van Heiden said. “Oftentimes, if not every time, there’s a lot of folks. But if I can be one person that helps a student feel connected, that helps a student feel heard and supported, that’s what my goal is here.”

Student Assistance wants to make sure they are a form of support for students; and if they can’t help them, they hope to connect them to someone who can. Van Heiden said the office will often describe itself as a bridge, if you don’t know where to start at Iowa State, Student Assistance is your place.

“Whether it’s ‘I can’t get a hold of my instructor and I have a question for them,’ to ‘I just lost a loved one and need to go home,’ anything that a student is navigating. What we do is help connect them to resources, support or options,” Van Heiden said. 

She also mentioned ways that Student Assistance can be of help to faculty and staff on campus. Van Heiden said whether it is in the classroom or when advisers are meeting with students, life often comes up. 

“If they give us a call and say, ‘hey I’m really worried about this student can you reach out to them?’ we would be happy to and want them to let us know,” Van Heiden said. 

Van Heiden says the staff at Student Assistance are well-informed of all the different policies and processes that are available to students. One example could be talking to a student about the academic grievance process.

“That’s a process not a lot of people are aware of,” Van Heiden said. “It’s in place if a student feels that their instructor is unfair or unprofessional, they can go ahead and move forward with the academic grievance process.”

Van Heiden says Student Assistance is happy to sit down with any student, form a process and walk them through it.

“We also work with students that are experiencing food insecurity,” Vain Heiden said. “So if it’s helping connect to shop here on campus, the give a swipe program, so getting swipes added to their meal plan, whatever that may be. Financial assistance, if it’s letting them know about opportunities in the Office of Financial Aid, or opportunities within each academic college. There’s a lot of different options.”

Student Assistance is also able to refer students to so many different resources on campus. Van Heiden says they work really closely on referring students to counseling services, to Thielen Student Health, academic advisers, student organizations and many more. 

“Iowa State is a huge campus and it’s really difficult to know all of the different support that’s here for students,” Van Heiden said.

Staff at Student Assistance are always able to schedule a time to speak with a student one-on-one at their office, but they are also available via email and phone if it works better for a student. Van Heiden says Student Assistance wants students to be successful here at Iowa State and part of that is supporting them outside of the classroom too.

“Our hope is through that connection, through that support and that care, students are able to create a plan moving forward where they can be successful,” Van Heiden said. “Sometimes that means stepping away from Iowa State, sometimes that means creating that plan, having something tangible and sometimes that means just talking to someone about what they’re feeling.”