Nicole Gould

City Colleges Advisor Encourages Students to Ask Questions and Connect with Support

Nicole Gould always pictured herself working with young people, and happily found her professional home at City Colleges as a college advisor, primarily for Star Scholars.

Nicole is from Chicago, but after she graduated from Hyde Park Career Academy, she went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Jackson State, an Historically Black University in Jackson, Mississippi. Originally planning to be a lawyer, Nicole discovered a love for counseling and advising, and subsequently earned her Master’s of Arts in Counseling at Chicago State University.

Once she earned her degrees, she worked at a community agency for a few years, but ultimately found her calling in higher education when she started advising early college students at Truman College. She spent six and a half years advising these high school students who were taking college classes, then transitioned over to Daley College in 2017 where she continues to help students every day.

“I enjoy being able to connect with and support my students. Yesterday, I saw one of my students and noticed something didn’t seem right. She told me she had some personal issues, so I walked her to the Wellness Center. Being able to catch when something is going on, then help to identify the resources to help a student keep working toward their goals is what I’m here to do. It’s so important just to be there for them,” she said.

One of the things she hears herself telling students over and over is “it’s ok to ask questions; it’s ok not to know something.” She says it’s important because if you don’t ask, you are stuck trying to figure things out on your own when someone may already have the answer.

Nicole loves the feeling of community she gets at Daley College. From students hanging out even though their classes are over, to seeing the care and support that faculty and staff give each student. She said, “Students are what make the college, and having those interactions with them from the first day they start until the day they leave is what makes this work really worthwhile.”