Alumni to offer career guidance at Education Career Night Feb. 18—on teaching and much more

Teaching isn’t the only profession you’ll hear about at UF’s Education Career Night Thursday (Feb. 18), 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Reitz Union room 282.

Five College of Education alumni will talk about the distinctly different career paths they each have followed—quite successfully—after earning their education degrees at UF. The alumni speakers include a crisis counselor, special education professor, college president, personal and corporate motivational “coach”, and a fourth-grade teacher.

The college’s assistant dean of student services, Theresa Vernetson, will welcome the alumni speakers and hold a question and answer session with attendees. Jill Skufe, the college’s representative at UF’s Career Resource Center, will provide tips on resume-writing, job hunting and interviewing. Dimple Flesner, UFTeach assistant director, will answer questions about her program, which recruits UF’s best and brightest math, science and technology majors into teaching.

The first 25 students attending will receive free Gator paraphernalia. The event is targeted to undergraduates considering teaching or other education disciplines (such as counseling or school psychology, educational administration, or student personnel services in higher education), or students considering changing majors. No RSVP is necessary to attend.

Here are bios for the five education alumni speakers:

Meggen Sixbey received her doctorate degree at UF in marriage and family counseling. She is a crisis intervention consultant for UF’s department of housing and residence education and an adjunct professor in counselor education at UF.

Martha League earned her Ph.D. in special education at UF in 2001 after teaching for 30 years. She’s a senior lecturer at UF and project director for the InSPIRE grant, which provides funding to educators completing a master’s degree in special education.

Dennis Gallon got his doctorate from UF in higher education administration. He is the president of Palm Beach State College and has won several awards, including the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Urban League of Palm Beach County.

Barry Gottlieb received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in educational psychology, all at UF. He founded Coaching the Winner’s Edge, a private consulting company grossing $75 million annually that offers guidance and strategic planning to individuals and major corporations. He is also an author and former radio co-host.

Jamee Miller graduated from UF with a master’s in education technology and was a 2009 selection for the UF Outstanding Young Alumni Award. She and her husband, Gilbert, recently created a $30,000 fellowship in education technology at UF. She is a fourth-grade teacher at Crystal Lake Elementary School in Lake Mary.

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CONTACTS

   Writer: Jennifer Tormo, Intern, UF College of Education, News & Commmunications; 352-273-4449, jtormo@coe.ufl.edu

   Source: Jodi Mount, UF College of Education, Alumni Affairs & Events, 352-273-4142, jmount@coe.ufl.edu