Dawn Deitsch does it all. The secretary for the Oakland University Honors College, she is thought of by the its students as “mom.” She acts daily as counselor, auditor, advisor and money manager.

In her eight years with the honors college, Deitsch has worked to make sure all of these students are meeting the demands the Honors College, and stay on track — making sure the students create a thesis before they graduate, for example. She currently has around 315 students.

For Deitsch, this means she first has to make sure the students are enrolled in the honors class that is “an introduction to the thesis,” a class that helps students through the process of creating their thesis.

She also must make sure they have good standing before they take this class, as well as four semesters of a foreign language and needs to ensure the thesis projects are approved.

The college has recruitment down to a science, so it now just works on retention. This year, the college will graduate about 34 of its 95 students, or about 30 percent.

Deitsch takes pride in the personal relationships she is able to grow with the students because they are constantly coming in and out. This is where the “mom” comes in. If a student is having any kind of problem, she won’t hesitate to take them out for a lunch to talk.

Evan Fischer, 19, is a sophomore mechanical engineering student who met Deitsch two summers ago when he entered the honors program. He was just beginning at OU and says she has always helped him with whatever he needed.

“Oh, I love Dawn,” Fischer said. “She’s like a mother. When I started, she was basically just my academic advisor and confidant. She just does everything.”

Deitsch has guided Fischer through the Honors College thus far. Like all the other honors students who complete the program, his relationship with her began with an entrance interview and will end with graduation at Meadowbrook Hall.

“At the graduation reception, I always cry,” Deitsch said. “I cry every year.”

While the students regard her as the honors college “mom,” the rest of the school and all of her other responsibilities experience her self-proclaimed “communication freak” role.

When she finds some time to spare from the phone calls, e-mails, checking up on students and interviewing prospective incoming freshmen, she puts on one of her other hats.

The OU Grizzdance Film Festival is a student-run film festival that is in its seventh year at OU and Deitsch is an advisor for the festival. She is also the treasurer of the Michigan Honors Association, which is a statewide organization of honors colleges that has an annual conference that, among other things, is one of her duties to attend.

Deitsch has an ever-present smile when she talks about her job. She worked for 23 years as a banker, while her husband Dan -worked for General Motors.They moved from their hometown of Midland, to Adrian, N.Y., and eventually ended up in Oakland County.

Her son and daughter are off on their own, living in Midland and New York, respectively, so now it’s just Deitsch, her husband and their crazy dog, L.J., or Lightning Jack.

This secretary said she loves her job, and plans on sticking around for as long as she can. The Honors College is currently waiting for a new director after having two different interim directors over the last two years and Deitsch said she cannot wait to see what changes and improvements are in store for the program.

“The best part about my job is the interaction,” Deitsch says. “When I’m feeling down they give me just, virtual hugs. They leave me little notes on my computer and stuff, and it’s just a really nice atmosphere. I keep telling them they keep me young.”