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As a School of Education & Human Development (SEHD) alum, longtime academic advisor, and academic services manager, Rebecca Schell (Counseling MA ’03) built a career grounded in compassion, consistency, and a deep commitment to student success. For nearly two decades at SEHD, Schell has been the person others could count on in pivotal moments. Her steady, thoughtful presence offered quiet reassurance that there was always a path forward. As she steps away to take some personal time before her next career chapter, she leaves behind a legacy defined by care, trust, and enduring impact.

Most students arrive at an academic advising appointment with a list: classes to take, deadlines to meet, forms to file. But occasionally, someone walks in with something harder to name: a sense of being lost, overwhelmed, hungry, or alone.

In the daily rhythm of course plans, graduation audits, and last-minute questions, Schell was one of the steady presences students came to rely on. As part of the SEHD advising team, she understood that students rarely arrive carrying only academic concerns. They bring their whole lives with them. And she met them there, again and again, with steady guidance and something even more powerful: kindness.

Schell’s relationship with SEHD began as a student. In January 2000, she enrolled in the MA in Counseling program while working full time in downtown Denver. The experience grounded her in a defining belief: you cannot help others until you understand yourself.

After graduating in fall of 2003 with a counseling degree, she built her advising career at Northern Arizona University before returning to CU Denver in 2009. Over time, she became a cornerstone of SEHD, supporting students across programs and guiding them through degree completion, policies, and academic transitions.

An Academic Services team-building outing to Hammond’s Candies

What made the work most meaningful were the students. Over the years, Schell saved notes and messages from those she helped—small reminders of moments when guidance turned into something deeper.

“Thank you for making me feel human.”

Another student shared, “You took such a weight off my mind… I had an ally pulling for me.”

These moments reflect Schell’s philosophy: students are whole people, balancing work, family, and personal challenges alongside their education.

Schell and colleagues volunteering that the Ronald McDonald House

She credits the SEHD Academic Services team as essential to that work. The collaboration, shared knowledge, and trust among colleagues created a foundation that allowed the team to support students at every stage.

Schell and school colleagues at her goodbye party in April 2026.

As Schell moves into her next chapter, her impact lives on, not only in processes improved or degrees completed, but in the countless individuals who felt seen, supported, and capable because of her work.

“You made me feel deserving of my education,” said a former SEHD student advisee.

For her, that has always been the main goal: uplifting students and walking alongside them all the way to the finish line.