The Plan II Staff
Mary Dillman
Academic Advisor Coordinator
Thesis administration, manual and symposia; registration advising, student organizations, freshman orientation, advising manual and degree plans.
Office: CLA 2.510
Phone: 512-471-1442
mdillman@austin.utexas.edu
Although born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mary grew up in Round Rock, Texas and attended UT as an undergraduate, majoring in History. When people would ask her, "What are you going to with a major in History, teach?" Mary would respond, "Nope!" and simply continued to study what she loved without worrying about what career would come her way. After graduation, she interned with the Texas Historical Commission and parlayed her research and writing skills into a full-time position there, working on historic preservation projects across Texas for four years. Eventually, the call of medieval studies took her to Arizona State University, where she received her MA and also realized that there is no other place in the world she'd rather live than Austin. Having loved working with students as a TA in graduate school, she turned to academic advising and was hired with the Biology department at UT in 2001. Mary worked there for nearly five years before moving to Plan II, where she is thrilled to be working with students who have a passion for Liberal Arts.
In her spare time, Mary loves hiking, film, reading historic fiction, and is quite active in her church.
Phillip Dubov
Alumni Relations & Development Specialist
Alumni Relations, Travel and Research Scholarships, Plan II Honors Commencement Convocation and Plan II Family Day Events
Alumni Relations and Development Events, Alumni and Annual Newsletters, Scholarship Disbursements, Research and Travel Grants, Special Event Coordination
Office: CLA 2.501
Phone: 512-471-1442
I joined the Plan II Honors Program staff in February of 2010.
I am a longtime Longhorn; cut me and I'll bleed orange. I grew up in Austin, and the 40 Acres were my playground. I have two degrees from the The University-- a B.A. and an M.A.--both in Art History. I've worked at UT for the past 17 years, mostly in the College of Liberal Arts, although my last two years were at the Jackson School of Geoscience. I was a two-term member of the University Staff Council and served as it's Vice-Chair in 2002. I've received two awards as a staff member: an Outstanding Service Award from the College of Liberal Arts and an Eyes of Texas Award.
I also work as a wine steward at a very nice restaurant here in Austin, where I've worked on weekends since 1997.
I love to write. I am always working on several projects, including a novel, a stage play and an epic poem.
Elsie Rebolloso
Office Manager, Assistant to the Director
Office Management, Director's calendar, Travel Management, Accounting and Management of Endowments and Purchasing.
Office: CLA 2.522
Phone: 512-471-1442
elsieqr@austin.utexas.edu
Elsie was born in New Mexico and raised in west Texas. She finished high school in Austin and applied only to UT for college. She majored in International Business (after switching twice) and received a BBA (finally) in 1995. She worked for 7 years in different realms of the import/export industry and came back to work at UT in 2002. She was at the College of Pharmacy and the office of University Events before joining the Plan II staff in July of 2011.
Elsie has a beautiful drama queen for a daughter, Catalina, who was born in 2007. She is blessed with a loving family and amazing friends. She bleeds burnt orange and relishes all Longhorn sports AND academic events, such as Explore UT. She feels fortunate to be surrounded by people who know and love liberal arts. When possible, she enjoys reading for pleasure with the Ruthless Readers book club (est. 2003), going to the movies, and eating out in Austin – the weirder, the better!
Melissa Ossian
Senior Academic Advisor
Sophomore Advising, Curriculum Planning, Course Scheduling, International Programs, Civic Engagement Programs, Internship Contact.
Office: CLA 2.506
Phone: 512-471-1442
melissaossian@austin.utexas.edu
I was born in New Jersey but moved to Clearwater, Florida (close to Tampa) when I was five years old and for the most part grew up in the Sunshine State. I attended Florida State University in Tallahassee where I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Social Science, and a Master of Arts Degree in International Affairs.
While in grad school I took advantage of a wonderful internship that lead to a full time position in the Florida Department of State's Office of International Affairs. In the international office I coordinated two grant programs focused on international education exchange and sister city cultural exchange, organized the visits of international dignitaries and events/conferences, and ran the office internship program. After several years, I returned to Florida State University to work as a Grants Coordinator for the Florida Learn and Serve and Title IV Community Service Grant programs which awarded service learning grants to K-12 schools and community organizations throughout the state of Florida. After relocating to Austin in June 2005, I started working at UT Austin as a Program Coordinator for the Science, Technology and Society (STS) Program. STS is a small interdisciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts dedicated to studying the societal impacts of science and technology. At STS, I wore many hats including undergraduate and graduate advisor, event planner, day to day operations administrator, curriculum planner, faculty recruiter, project coordinator, marketing specialist, and program liaison. I joined the Plan II team in August of 2007 as a Senior Academic Advisor. Working directly with students and faculty is a wonderful job that I truly enjoy. Other than advising students on academics and enrichment opportunities, I also coordinate Plan II's sophomore advising program, career week, study abroad programs, civic engagment opportunities and internships. As the curriculum coordinator, I work directly with the faculty on course related matters snd have a hand in curriculum development, schedule planning, faculty recruitment, faculty mentoring initiatives and the administration of the Plan II Advisory Council.
Outside of work, I have been married to my amazing husband Rob since November 2006. We have one incredible child, Jake who is the light of our lives and one cat, Octavius who we rescued as a stray kitten back in Tallahassee. In my spare time, I enjoy movies, watching sports (especially college football), reading, and power walking.
Jennifer Scalora
Director of Plan II Honors Admissions, Senior Program Coordinator
Freshman Admissions, Program Information and Recruiting, Website Administration, Database Administration and Management, Freshman and Continuing Scholarships.
Office: CLA 2.512
Phone: 512-471-1442
scalora@austin.utexas.edu or planiiadmission@austin.utexas.edu
Many moons ago when Austin was a more relaxed, cleaner, far weirder, but much less trafficky town, Jennifer came to the University of Texas as an undergraduate in Spanish and Portuguese. When the time came to graduate, she managed to postpone real life several more years by pursuing a Master's in Latin American Studies, specializing in Brazilian literature and music. While in grad school, she started working at the Department of American Studies as the graduate coordinator and eventually also undertook the undergraduate advising. After completing her Master's, she moved to New York City and completed an intensive restaurant management and culinary arts program at the New York Restaurant School. That (almost) fatal decision lead to two years mis-spent in the restaurant business. (The restaurant school was great; actually working in restaurants...not so much.)
Once she regained her sanity, Jennifer came running back (lumbering actually, since she was six months pregnant at the time) to the University for a brief six month stint at Human Resources and then five strange and very busy years at the Population Research Center. She has completed her twenty-fifth year of happy (such a relative term) state servitude in 2011. The past (almost) seventeen years at Plan II Honors have been challenging, great fun and extremely rewarding--particularly since Jennifer LOVES to talk and Plan II applicants (and their parents) love to ask questions.
Jennifer has two brilliant and beautiful (if ill-mannered) sons, Griffen (21, a junior in college) and Walker (17, a HS senior) who keep her, and her still more brilliant and ever-patient husband, Will (of the melodious voice and the very cool hair), quite busy.
Jennifer is most proud of two special awards: Outstanding Service by a Staff Member from the College of Liberal Arts, in May, 2004; and, in May 2007, a University Staff Excellence Award. Staff excellence awards honor and recognize the contributions of non-teaching employees who have had a significant impact on the University.
Currently, Jennifer participates on the Executive Committee and is the president of the University of Texas chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. She also very happily takes advantage of (and free lunches with) the Honors Advisers Group. She serves as the Head HAG and HAG-Nag for the Honors Admissions Group (HAGs) where representatives from all the University's honors programs and from the University's Office of Admissions strive to continue stream-lining and trying to add logic to all the persnickity honors application processes.
Matt Valentine
Senior Program Coordinator (of Joynes Events and Speaker Series)
(photograph: Sara McCuistion)
Joynes Room Programming/Distinguished Authors and Poets Series; Book Club for Honors Students; Book Club for Honors Students; Poetry WorkshopsWCH
Office: CLA 2.102
Phone: 471-5692
mvalentine@mail.utexas.edu
Matt Valentine teaches the courses "Writing Narratives" and "Photographic Narratives" for the Plan II Honors Program, and is the Program Coordinator for the Joynes Reading Room. Mr. Valentine's fiction has been published in several literary magazines, and he has received writing awards and fellowships from New York University, the Michener Center for Writers, Playboy magazine, the Vermont Studio Center and the Greensboro Review. In 2012, he received the Montana Prize for Fiction, awarded by Cutbank magazine to the winner of their national writing contest. Also a professional photographer, Valentine has contributed photos to The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Review, Slate.com, Salon.com and many other publications.
