Nicolas Gisholt is a Senior Specialist Academic Advisor for the College of Social Science at the Center for Integrative Studies and the Department of Anthropology, former Specialist representative for the Chicanx Latinx Association, and advises the Chicano Latino Studies minor. Gisholt is passionate about advocacy for the Latino community, equitable distribution of resources for students; retention and graduation rates for students of underserved groups; and mental health in university students. He is our Access Spotlight for the month of September as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Gisholt originally began his academic career in Mexico City, studying psychology. It was a homecoming of sorts. Gisholt grew up in Mexico and moved to the United States as a teenager for his stepfather’s new job. After earning his degree, he settled in Boston to live near family. Expecting to find a job in the psychology field, his career trajectory shifted after he applied and was offered a job teaching Spanish at a private Catholic school in Massachusetts.
“It was kind of a surprise for me,” he said. “I didn’t plan it that way, but I said, ‘Let’s just try it.’ Not many jobs for something in psychology called me back; this one called back, and it sounded interesting.”
Gisholt ended up enjoying the experience of teaching, but his aspirations in psychology were still on his mind. He applied to a few PsyD programs but didn’t hear back. Then, similar to his teaching opportunity, a new path presented itself. After moving to Michigan with his wife, he learned of the Social Work program at University of Michigan and its rolling admissions. He had taken a few social work-adjacent classes in undergrad while studying clinical psychology and his interest was piqued. He applied, and was accepted.
“Social work was a very different way of looking at things compared to psychology,” Gisholt said of his time earning his MSW. “It’s given me a very good perspective about many things in life.”
After earning his master’s, Gisholt and his wife moved to East Lansing and began the job application journey anew. Gisholt drew on his academic and teaching background to apply for an advisor position at Michigan State. “I knew that I was able to do things related to social work, psychology, and education,” he explained. While in undergrad, Gisholt participated in several internships that gave him the opportunity to interact with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, in different social situations, giving him a very open-minded perspective. Studying social work in particular taught him the importance of being involved in positive change on the grassroots level, and he saw advisory work as the perfect way to support students in similar situations to the ones he encountered on his own journey.
“If you want society to change, then you have to be involved in some way or another,” he explained. “For me, that’s involving myself in committees, whether it’s advocacy for our Latino community or something else … you cannot just complain and hope that things change.”
One of the most important things to Gisholt as an advisor is making sure that students have space to thrive at Michigan State and feel like they belong. This idea of belonging, Gisholt says, should extend to students from all backgrounds, some needing more support and greater access to resources than others.
“We want to make sure we are including everybody,” he said. “First generation students, people from both urban and rural places, in and outside of Michigan, for instance. That sense of belonging is very important for every one of our students.”
For Gisholt, the role of advising extends far beyond the academic realm. It’s about listening to students and guiding them through their college journey, which involves more than just attending classes and taking tests. He strives to make his office a trusting space where students feel like they can talk about whatever is going on in their lives.
“I realized that as long as you give students the space, they are willing to and want to talk about what’s going on, and I try to make them feel like they have someone they can trust one on one,” he explained. “You don’t just talk about what classes they need. You have to take into consideration the variety and sense of newness they are experiencing.”
Gisholt also enjoys that his job is always evolving; he likens it to the changing of the seasons or the start of a new season for the football and basketball teams. “I like the fact that we have to come up with new ideas about how to better serve our students,” he says. In his advisory meetings and in working with the Chicanx Latinx Association, he always opens up the floor for opportunities for students to discuss the resources they need, their experiences on campus, and encourages them to learn more about each other in the classroom and make personal connections.
The idea of being among individuals with a shared identity also plays a role in Gisholt’s own ability to thrive at Michigan State. During Hispanic Heritage Month and the celebratory events put on by the Chicano Latino Studies program and the Chicanx Latinx Association, he especially feels like he has a home away from home where he can speak his native language and celebrate his culture.
“I have lived here in the United States much longer than I have lived in Mexico, but I will always identify as being from Mexico and it’s a very important part of my identity,” he explained. “That’s why just being there, in a place where you have people that you can talk to and share similar values about family, culture and other things, is so important.”
Honorees’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the College of Social Science.