The idea of college and higher education can be daunting for many. The papers due, finding the right professors and the expense can scare many off from continuing their education, but some graduates have chosen to return to college to help others have a positive and successful college experience.

The College of Education at the University of Florida would like to observe National Higher Education Day by celebrating the graduates who have decided to return to school to help other students in higher education.

“Being in this program and studying higher education has both satisfied my curiosity as a learner around higher education but also I could see the direct impact of my work on the ground on how students experience college,” LB Hannahs said. “That was the draw of this program and the draw of studying higher education more broadly.”

The Student Personnel Higher Education program at UF helps graduate students prepare themselves for administrative roles in higher education.

“It met my needs, it was a rigorous program,” said Leslie Pendleton, Director of the Machen Florida Opportunity scholarships. “But it was also here at the home institution that I worked at. So it was convenient.”

Pendleton said that the program allowed her to use her education as a practitioner while bringing what she has seen as a faculty member into the classroom.

“The program provided me the time to engage in some of those life-long learning experiences,” she said.

There are multiple programs under the student personnel umbrella allowing graduate students the flexibility to continue working in their current position so that they can put their education to practical use.