Joe Clifford

E.M. Forster wrote that “life [...] is a public performance on the violin, in which you must learn the instrument as you go along.”

This is a guiding principle that I carry with me in all my work as an advisor – one that inspires me to embrace the uncertainty inherent in life, and to understand that it’s okay, even necessary, to learn as you go. During my own experience as an undergraduate at UC Davis, I changed my major six times, saw my freshman year disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and learned to work through the grief that comes with losing a loved one.

As a first-generation college graduate and former foster youth, I understand firsthand the difficulties that come with navigating complex university policies and procedures for the first time, and I aim to implement holistic, humanized, and proactive advising to make college more navigable and accessible to all, and to guide students through whatever life may throw at them.

I believe in higher education as a path toward self-discovery, personal transformation, and greater freedom. As an advisor, I strive to help students develop their capacity for self-authorship: to understand the choices available to them, to make meaning of their experiences, and to develop the confidence required to envision their goals and execute a plan to make them a reality.