Lisa Lebo

Lisa Lebo serves as the Director of First-Year Experience & Transition Programs at McDaniel College while maintaining an active teaching role in the classroom. A second-generation McDaniel College graduate, she brings diverse professional experience from K-12 education, military support services, technical writing, and corporate sectors to her current position focused on student transition and success.

Education:

• 2012: M.S. from Walden University
• 2001: B.A. from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College)

Her professional focus centers on creating effective first-year student experiences through comprehensive programming and mentorship. She specializes in transition strategies for new college students, curriculum development for first-year seminars, and writing pedagogy within higher education contexts. Her work emphasizes practical application through orientation programs, peer mentorship models, and innovative course design that connects academic skills with personal development.

Lisa oversees all first-year programming including summertime Local sessions, New Student Orientation, the First Look series, and Jan term's "My Design" initiative. She recruits and trains student leaders including Local session coordinators and First-Year Seminar peer mentors, building campus-wide support systems for incoming students.

In the classroom, she teaches English composition courses (English 1002: The College Essay, English 1101: Introduction to College Writing) and designed the FYS 1269: Find your Strong: Running for your Life course. Her teaching philosophy integrates her background in English education with practical transition support, creating experiential learning opportunities that connect academic writing with personal growth narratives.