Profile Piece: Alison Frisbie

by Ramona DiFrancesco

At one time in her life, Alison Frisbie had plans to become a probation officer. That was before she turned her attention to becoming an educator.

She is an academic coordinator in the Advising Center at 4C’s. She also teaches COL101, the College Experience, as an adjunct professor. Frisbie uses this course to teach students life skills to help them succeed in their education, as well as in their personal lives. Frisbie began working at 4C’s in July 2004.

“My interest in the position was the variety of students that attend a community college,” she says. “I was also interested in a position that was more involved with direct student services.”

When Frisbie was in college, her plan was to work in probation. Her undergraduate degree was a bachelor’s in public justice from SUNY Oswego, where she earned her master’s to work as a probation officer in New York.

In her words, “I enrolled in the MS degree in counseling. To help pay for college, I worked as a resident hall director. Well, I soon found that I really enjoyed higher education and my career goals shifted away from probation work and into higher education.”

Before coming to work at 4C’s, Frisbie worked at Curry College as an area coordinator and later as a director of student services. She also worked as a counselor for the Youth Commission Office in Needham. Right before 4C’s, she worked at Northeastern University as a director of student operations.

“I enjoyed my work at all of the colleges and at the youth commission – all focused on helping young adults find their education path,” She says.

Alison Frisbie 

Frisbie offers this advice for students about how to succeed in college:

“I urge students to be proactive about their major and career search.  It is fine to be undecided – the question is what steps are you taking to figure out your educational goals and plans.  Follow your interests – see where they can take you.  Listen to others about career options, but trust your own instincts and follow your own dreams to reach your goals.  Don’t be afraid of making a mistake – get out of your comfort zones - we learn the most in life from the challenges we face and the hurdles we encounter.  And most importantly, don’t let your setbacks define you – define yourself by how you responded to those set-backs.”

Frisbie says she feels fortunate to work at a college where she was able to work remotely from March 2020 to August 2021. Now she works on campus Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and teaches remote classes Mondays and Wednesdays.

“Knowing that I could continue to work and earn a paycheck and do the work I enjoy while staying safe was a true blessing.” said Frisbie. “ So many people lost their jobs or were required to work through the pandemic. I will always be grateful that I had the opportunities I had to work and be safe.”

Frisbie is thankful to have been able to handle the pandemic as a professor, and as far as her experience with COVID goes, she says, “Personally, it has been a challenge at times, particularly in the early months of the pandemic when so many people were dying or becoming hospitalized. I was fortunate that I never became sick or tested positive. Once I was eligible for the vaccine and booster I signed up immediately, and it was a big relief.”

Frisbie says she has always had pets in her life. She lost both her cat and dog last year, but she was able to adopt a cat in August and hopes to adopt a dog in the near future. She has several hobbies she enjoys, such as golf, biking and kayaking in the warm weather, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. When she’s not doing those things, she’s working in her 2-acre yard tending to multiple flower beds and shrubs, or mowing the lawn on her John Deere tractor.

Categories: Professors, People