J. Vincent Nix, Ph.D., START Coordinator

• Email: nixvince@isu.edu
• Phone: 282-4359

Vince Nix has been developing organizations in academia and private industry for the past 22 years. He worked in student services for the University of Mississippi and Washington State University, both from which he earned his academic degrees. Vince has a bachelor's in sociology and psychology, a master's in educational leadership, TEFL certification, and a PhD in higher education administration.

Vince served as an HR manager for a Japanese manufacturer and later as a graduate researcher for two years of a Thailand higher education reform project. Vince held several positions in China while doing doctoral research: led a start-up language school; organizational development (OD) consultant to a Sino-Swiss joint venture; and an assistant professor of international business for a U.S. college.

Vince is thrilled to be a part of the START Team at ISU and views his current position as a way to "pay it forward" for the support he received as a first-generation, disabled college student.

Amy M. Christensen, Counselor

• Email: chriamy@isu.edu
• Phone: 282-3245

Amy Christensen has expressed her desire to serve her community in a variety of ways over the course of her career. Beginning with a degree in Fine Art Amy went on to serve two years as an AmeriCorps member. This experience gave Amy a focus and passion for supporting families in her community. Over the next decade she was a Literacy Consultant for Head Start, director for an afterschool program for at-risk adolescents, and a Parent Educator and Nurturing Families Facilitator and Trainer for many years. As part of a natural progression for her personally and professionally, Amy returned to school to further her education and obtained a Master of Counseling in Mental Health from Idaho State University in 2010. Having passed through a number of transitions Amy views her current position as an exciting opportunity to support others as she has been supported.

Cindy Wade, STEP Counselor

• Email: dougcind@isu.edu
• Phone: 282-4359

Cindy Wade (Dougherty) returned to college after many years of raising children and working in various service type positions such as; school districts with special education and assisted living centers with the elderly. She loved her work with people and being able to inspire and help people of all ages. In 2010 she earned, from ISU, a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy with a minor in English. Cindy chose to continue on to complete a Master of Counseling degree in 2012 also here at ISU. Her emphasis is on School Counseling and Student Affairs. Cindy has enjoyed internships in the schools and the Career Center here at ISU. She worked with the Bengal Athletes in their study hall and enjoys working with the students and helping them find their passion in life, and in what direction they want their future to proceed. Observing how the START program has changed lives and empowered people has been inspirational for Cindy. She is proud to be a part of this amazing program and excited to be an addition to those life changes and growth for incoming and ongoing students.

Donald E. Allen, Math Instructor

• Email: alledona@isu.edu
• Phone: 282-4094

Don Allen likes math. He started math by playing cribbage, lotto, and other board games with his grandmother. He still likes math problems all the way from adding 2+2 up to group theory used in particle physics. No problem is too easy. No problem is… . Well, yes, some problems are very hard.

Don was born in Missoula, Montana. He graduated from Idaho Falls High School sometime during the last century. He attended college in New York, NY, Eugene, OR, and Pocatello, ID. He earned a Master's degree in Physics from Idaho State University as a nontraditional student.

Don has worked in variety of jobs, including farm, factory, retail sales, social service, and education. He worked more than ten years for USDA in a wonderful job which combined food and science. Getting paid to taste French-fried potatoes made him believe even more in higher education.

Don is delighted to be the Math Instructor for the START program. Working with the people, both students and staff, is the best part of the job.

Raushanna Byington, English Tutor/Instructor

• Email: byinraus@isu.edu
• Phone: 282-3208

Raushanna Byington is herself, a General Education Development (GED©) graduate. She began her academic career in 2003 by obtaining high honors in the College of Southern Idaho GED© program. She immediately began coursework in secondary education and soon transferred to Idaho State University where she discovered Adult Basic Education.

While tutoring others pursuing their own GEDs©, Raushanna found that the rewards of working with adults are great. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in English; all the while finding enjoyment in watching others learn and grow.

Raushanna's excitement is boundless as she joins the START Team. She wants the participants in the START program to see their own potential. She is ready to help them see in themselves the confidence she gained as she worked her way from GED© graduate, to college graduate, to proponent of continuing education.

Jim H. Blume, Application Analyst

• Email: blumejim@isu.edu
• Phone: 282-3363

Jim Blume has always enjoyed programming. He got his start programming simple games on the Atari 800XL and Comador64 for his younger brother. He has studied a variety of programming languages over the years and especially enjoys database administration and interactive web design.

Jim was born in Trenton South Carolina and graduated from Wardlaw Academy. He attended college in South Carolina and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from Francis Marion University.

Jim has worked in a variety of jobs over the years including farming, chimney sweeping, brewing, and restaurant management. He worked more than 11 years with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources as a Database Administrator and Application Designer. The process of automating and making web accessible procedures that once required much time and effort has been very rewarding.

Jim is very excited to join the START team and help automate and streamline the current paper processes so that the team can spend more time with students and less time on paperwork.

Matt Harris LPC, NCC

Matt received his Bachelor's of Arts and Associates of Criminal Justice in 2004 from Idaho State University, he went on to study Student Affairs/Higher Education and graduated with a Master's in Counseling in 2007. He has conducted research on the benefits of chocolate and mood, and has conducted numerous presentations in areas of Career, Personal Counseling, Testing and Student Affairs. Matt is currently the acting chair of the student conduct review board at ISU. Matt has worked at the ISU testing center for the last 12 years performing various duties and is currently employed as the Test Center Coordinator. He oversees all testing, and is the designated chief examiner for the GED program at Idaho State University.

Cathy Brydon, LCPC, CADC, RN

Cathy was raised in Pocatello, ID. Her grandfather, both parents, both or her brothers, her son and Cathy have all attended ISU. Cathy graduated from Pocatello High School in the past century and after graduating moved to Oregon and received a RN degree in 1980. She lived in Oregon for close to 20 years.

Cathy moved back to Pocatello to finish her Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 1993 from ISU. She was later recruited by a Psychiatrist in Idaho Falls to do medication management, assessments and do drug and alcohol counseling utilizing. In 2003 she followed through with her drug and alcohol certificate through ISU and then entered the Master's of Counseling program at ISU. She has been working in the community the past 5 years doing mental health counseling and drug and alcohol counseling. In the summer of 2010 she started working part time at Center for New Directions. In January of 2011 she started working at ISU Center for New Directions full time.

Nicole Roseberg, Counseling Intern

Nicole received her bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Science and Health Education from Idaho State University in 2005. After graduation she started her career as an Admissions Counselor for Idaho State University. She spent 3 years recruiting and helping students obtain their dreams of going to college. In 2008, Nicole decided she wanted to spread her wings, so she took a job as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Pacific University in Oregon. She spent two wonderful years in Oregon, before deciding to come back to Idaho to pursue her master's degree. Nicole currently works as a Recruiter for the College of Technology on ISU's campus and is working on her master's degree in Counseling. She really enjoys working with students and thought the START Program would be a perfect fit for her internship.