Inspiring others
to succeed
College student, alumna,
and donor make an impact
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Alexis Williams (B.S.F.C.S ’12, M.A.T. ’16, Ed.S. ’18, M.Ed. ’19, Ph.D. ’22), doctoral student
Prepping students for real-world success
Ever since high school, Alexis Williams had a passion for career and technical education.
“I still use skills that I learned in my high school construction classes today even though I didn’t choose that career field,” says Williams. “I love that you can combine practical skills with your academic knowledge.”
Williams serves as a graduate assistant in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s New Teacher Institute (NTI), a certification program for teacher candidates. Having earned three degrees from the University of Georgia with a fourth on the way, she makes an impact on students with her knowledge of workforce education, teaching, and counseling.
- Hometown: Harris County, GA
- Degree objective: Ph.D. in workforce education
- Expected graduation: Spring 2022
- Degree(s): Family and consumer sciences (B.S.F.C.S. ’12); workforce education (M.A.T. ’16); workforce education (Ed.S. ’18); school counseling (M.Ed. ’19)
You attended UGA for several of your previous degrees and now for your Ph.D. What drew you to UGA?
Being a Georgia native, I love everything Georgia—from the Bulldogs to the Braves to the Falcons and Callaway Gardens in my hometown. When I went for a college visit with my dad senior year, I instantly felt at home. I love the southern hospitality and charm of Athens accompanied by the welcoming spirits of the students and faculty. I knew that day I would be a Dawg because of the feeling of belonging along with UGA being one of the top institutions academically!
What inspired you to pursue your current degree in workforce education?
I always had an interest in teaching and assumed education would be a career down the line, but it sparked when I returned to my hometown after graduation. I returned to my former high school as a long-term substitute teacher and fell in love with the ability to impact students.
I’ve always been passionate about career and technical education (CTE), even when I was a student in high school. I want to make sure students know there are many avenues they can take after graduating from high school. I’m also interested in career counseling, so workforce education falls right into line with my passion.
Why are you passionate about workforce education/career and technical education?
Career and technical education provides many opportunities for students beyond graduation and/or attending a four-year college. Through CTE and workforce education, students can learn employability skills and real-world trades to assist with their future success.
All the CTE pathways can be transitioned to an infield career, and the content can also be used by students as a foundation in post-secondary education. I still use skills that I learned in my high school construction classes today even though I didn’t choose that career field. I love that you can combine practical skills with your academic knowledge!
How have volunteer and service learning experiences aided you as a workforce education student?
In 2019, I participated in UGA’s Fulbright-Hays robotics study abroad program in Tanzania. The main objective was to teach robotics to elementary school teachers and students. The one-week workshop on robotics education led to the development of a robotics curriculum at the local university and elementary schools in Moshi, including building and programming robots.
Along with teaching and creating a robotics program, we visited local schools to learn about the educational systems and participated in several other learning experiences. For four weeks, we spent four hours in language and cultural classes each week to facilitate local condition adaption and made cultural visits to familiarize ourselves with the daily life and lifestyles of residents. We developed a deeper understanding of technology environments. Some culturally designed activities included buying and selling in the local markets with a typical budget of $2 per day, attending local houses of worship, and sharing traditional meals with locals. We also visited the U.S. Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam and learned about local industries in Zanzibar.
What are some of your favorite classes at UGA?
My favorite classes in the program are focused on educational design and instructional technology, which is also my functional minor. These classes put me at the front of the digital curve which helped me a lot, especially the COVID-19 pandemic. I was able to complete the Online Teaching Endorsement and the Graduate Certificate in eLearning Design. I love using the knowledge from those courses to create and teach engaging lessons as a graduate assistant. Modeling is the best method to use when teaching CTE teachers in the NTI program.
What are your plans following graduation this spring?
My plans are tentative because I am focusing on my dissertation study about the early experiences of CTE teachers in Georgia. I may return to public education since I am certified as a family and consumer sciences teacher and a school counselor. I completed the Certificate in Educational Leadership as well during my time at UGA. I’m also completing the Certificate in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies along with my Ph.D., so I’m open to a career in higher education in the University System.
Alexis Williams (B.S.F.C.S ’12, M.A.T. ’16, Ed.S. ’18, M.Ed. ’19, Ph.D. ’22), doctoral student
Alexis Williams (B.S.F.C.S ’12, M.A.T. ’16, Ed.S. ’18, M.Ed. ’19, Ph.D. ’22), doctoral student
Commit to our students
Every year, dozens of hardworking students receive scholarships and need-based aid from the Mary Frances Early College of Education to help remove financial barriers that make it difficult for them to focus on achieving their academic dreams.
Please consider contributing to the College of Education General Scholarship Fund, the Abigail Reddic Student Teaching Emergency Fund, or the College of Education Fund for Excellence with a gift of any size to ensure our students achieve their goals no matter their background or financial standing.
For more information, contact Molly Thomas, director of development and alumni relations, at 706-542-2893 or molly2@uga.edu.
Evelyn Corley (B.S.Ed. ’05), alumna
Evelyn Corley (B.S.Ed. ’05), alumna
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Evelyn Corley (B.S.Ed. ’05), alumna
The evolution of education
- Degree program: Middle grades education
- Current position: Founder and CEO, Mrs. Evelyn International Academy and Evelyn Educates Tutoring
- Lives in: Athens, Georgia
For Evelyn Corley (B.S. Ed. ’05), online platforms like Zoom and YouTube help her connect with students, families, and other educators around the world. When she graduated from the Mary Frances Early College of Education in 2005, another online platform had just hit the scene—Gmail.
“The University of Georgia paves the way for things that are new, and at that time, when I was graduating, it was new to have Gmail email,” Corley says. “It was new to really incorporate the technology and the teaching together, and I felt like when I started teaching in 2005, I was ahead of the game.”
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, her business grew 500%. Her academy, Mrs. Evelyn International Academy, and tutoring company, Evelyn Educates Tutoring, welcome students and educators both across the globe and in Corley’s home state of Georgia, made possible with technology and adapting to new trends in education.
“We have students in Europe, students in Africa, students in Mexico, we have students all over,” Corley says. “Something new that's happening in 2022 is that families are ‘world schooling,’ where they are traveling with their families full-time and finding multiple locations to live throughout the year. We provide that consistent, adult teacher-mentor support system for them as they travel which is becoming increasingly common.”
As an eighth-grade teacher, Corley saw the need for one-on-one tutoring for her students, some of whom were reading at second- or third-grade reading levels.
“I believe that being truly seen, truly heard, truly supported, and truly valued is so important. Even if there are two students in the class or three students in the class, it's taking away from that comfort and that ability to ask any question and just start with where you are in your learning and to grow and build from there, which is what we do in both the academy and the tutoring company—we start with where you are as a learner, and we build from there,” Corley says.
With more than a decade of experience teaching in public schools along with tutoring on the side, she took the plunge and founded her business in 2018.
“It started super simple,” Corley says. “I make funny Facebook videos and quirky advertisements, and I started tutoring my high school friends’ kids—those were my very first clients—and then they told their friends and they told their friends and through the power of Facebook and the power of the mom, we became an international hit.”
Now, the business employs more than 25 educators, serves 12 students in the academy, and serves 65 students through tutoring.
The academy provides the sole academic experience for students, along with homeschooling support in individual content areas, while the tutoring service provides additional support to students enrolled in public or private schools.
When the pandemic hit, the business’s setup allowed for more students and educators to come aboard.
“What made us so unique is that we were already on the map,” Corley says. “We already had the testimonials, the support system, and the families believing in us, and so we received consistent support during these past two years of uncertainty.”
Looking ahead, next steps for her business include becoming an accredited high school—the academy currently offers homeschooling for high school diplomas—to open more doors for students after graduation.
On an individual level, Corley also will begin a new journey as part of UGA’s inaugural class of Leadership Dawgs, a one-year program where leaders in the community develop their leadership skills and partner with a nonprofit in the Athens or Atlanta area to provide support.
She said her time at UGA and the support she received helped make these opportunities possible.
“Taking that leap of faith and entering the University of Georgia as an awkward, nervous 18-year-old freshman changed my life. It gave me the foundation for believing in myself and knowing that anything was possible,” Corley says. “It gave me the opportunity to later get my master's degree from LaGrange College and to be a Leadership Dawg, but I just want to say that the kindness, compassion, and level of education I received is the foundation of who I am and why I'm successful today.”
—Anika Chaturvedi
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
New gifts to support and expand teacher pipeline
Two gifts from Georgia Power—a long-time supporter of the Mary Frances Early College of Education—will help expand experiential learning opportunities for a diverse group of students in the College.
The funds will help launch two new programs at the University of Georgia, both aimed at supporting and recruiting students into the teacher pipeline.
Horizons
Georgia Power’s first gift of $25,000 will launch the College’s inaugural Horizons program and provide UGA students with real-world experiences in the field while simultaneously supporting children in the local Athens community.
Using a project-based approach, the six-week summer learning experience will teach K-8 students from underserved communities to “learn by doing” as they explore reading, math, swimming, and other activities that cultivate creativity, confidence, and leadership.
Founded in 1964 and expanding nationally since 1995, Horizons is a network of high-quality, tuition-free, immersive, academic, and enrichment programs for children, providing out-of-school-time support for the duration of a child’s K-8th grade experience.
Launching in the summer of 2022, the inaugural program will begin with a cohort of K-1 students and grow each year by adding a new kindergarten cohort.
Call Me MISTER®
Georgia Power’s second gift of $23,000 will help launch a new program at UGA to recruit diverse students into the College’s teacher education programs.
The College will apply to be a site for the Call Me MISTER® program at Clemson University, which seeks to increase the pool of teachers from diverse backgrounds by recruiting students from underserved, socio-economically disadvantaged, and educationally at-risk communities into teacher preparation programs.
“Through this program at the University of Georgia, we hope to bring a diverse group of teachers who will enhance educational and economic opportunities for students all across the state,” says Jeff Petrea, Athens regional director for Georgia Power. “The teachers brought in through this donation will allow the passionate, educated, and driven students of today to become the bright minds of our state’s workforce tomorrow.”
The first cohort of students will join the program in the fall of 2022. The students will receive financial support, participate in a leadership development program, and receive one-on-one and small group mentoring from faculty, staff, and senior students. Upon graduation, students will be eligible for teacher certification.
Currently, the College is identifying faculty, staff, and graduate student leadership to work on the application for the Call Me MISTER® program and to develop recruitment plans. They will also establish relationships with schools, plan leadership programming, recruit mentors, and more.
“I am grateful for Georgia Power’s consistent and continued support of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the College,” says Denise Spangler, dean of the UGA Mary Frances Early College of Education. “This gift comes at a time when it is crucially important to support those who want to shape the future as educators.”
Both of the gifts from Georgia Power promote the company’s mission to improve and strengthen educational initiatives for students from all backgrounds.
Why we give
Jim (Ed.D. ’75) and Judy Lanfrey (Ed.D. ’75) came to UGA to study reading education under the mentorship of Ira E. Aaron, a former faculty member in the College. In 1973, they moved onto UGA’s campus with two daughters and a dog named Snoopy. “The rest,” they say, “is our grateful history! We are forever indebted to the College, our professors, and all who made our goals achievable. We are pleased to support the programs offered at UGA. Go Dawgs!”
To join the Lanfreys in supporting the Mary Frances Early College of Education, please consider making a gift today!
Built with Shorthand