The UF College of Education Seminole County EduGator Reception was held at the home of Dr. Tina (Ed.D ’99) & Dr. Joseph Calderone in Longwood, FL on February 27, 2013. Alumni guests were able to reconnect with fellow Gators and hear about the exciting things happening at UF.
Thank you to all our alumni and guests who were able to attend this event!
To see more photos from the reception, click here.
This year’s Education Career Night was a success! A panel of five dynamic College of Education alumni offered career advice and talked about the distinctly different career paths they each have followed—quite successfully—after earning their education degrees at UF. The event was held at the Reitz Union on the evening of February 21st.
This year’s panel included Mr. Eric Grunden (Presidential Teacher Honoree), Dr. Eric Smith (a former Florida Education Commissioner), Ms. Sharon Daniels (the CEO of a corporate leadership firm), Dr. Theresa Beachy (the head of a domestic abuse network), and Dr. Jaime Jasser (a University Mental Health Counselor).
For more photos of Career Night click here.
Jessica Funk (MED ’10, Elementary Ed) tells us about her career after graduation. Jessica joined the Peace Corps shortly after earning her degree from the University of Florida. She now teaches to children in Mbala, Zambia in Africa for 10 hours a day, focusing on literary instruction. One challenge she faces is preparing the children in grades 8 and 9 for their upcoming national exams so that they can continue their education in high school. Jessica is pictured below with some of her students.
The UF College of Education and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School recently held their Atlanta Gator Reception on February 5, 2013. Steven and Judy Funk (PKY ’68; BAE ’73) were the reception hosts for the event. Guests were able to reconnect with former classmates from P.K. Yonge and the College of Education.
Lauren O’Hara May (M.Ed ’09, Early Childhood Ed.) teaches Kindergarten at St. Pius Catholic School in Jacksonville, FL. She is also the Vice President of Athletics for the Gator Club of Jacksonville. Her class recently participated in “College T-shirt Day” and photographed her students as “Future Gators”.
Christos Skaloumbakas (BAE ’91 & MED ’92, Special Ed) tells us about his career after graduation. For two years, Mr. Skaloumbakas taught at a special school to educate and help emotionally disordered students, before accepting a position in the Department of Child Psychiatry at Panagiotis & Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital in Athens, Greece.
After several years of working for the Department of Child Psychiatry, he assisted in the staffing of their new ADHD/LD Unit in the hospital. This new unit was the first of its kind in the public sector in Greece. Mr. Skaloumbakas later became a founding member and the Vice President of the Hellenic Society for Research in ADHD. In addition to his current positions, he is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board in ADHD Hellas – The Hellenic Association of Individuals with ADHD, a consultant to the Ministry of Education, and co-authored a widely used computer-based assessment instrument for Dyslexia.
Christos says, “I would like to send my greetings to all the members of the teaching staff who were around when I was graduating; particularly Dr. Paul Sindelar and Dr. Mary Brownell. I would also like to thank Dr. Stephen Smith whose influence defined my academic interests and whose scholarly work I’ve been following all these years.”
Anne M. Kress (PhD ’07, Higher Ed Administration) recently won the 2013 Athena Award presented by the Women’s Council of the Rochester (N.Y.) Business Alliance for her community service, professional achievements and leadership in the advancement of other professional women. Kress has served as president of Monroe Community College in Rochester since 2009 and has more than 20 years of experience as an educator and administrator in higher education.
She previously was provost and vice president of academic affairs at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Kress earned a doctorate in higher education administration, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in finance, all from the University of Florida. She is a 2012 recipient of UF’s Higher Education Administration Outstanding Graduate Award.
Click here to read the article in the Rochester newspaper.
