Class Notes

"I completed a Doctorate in Teacher Leadership at Kennesaw State University in 2022. My dissertation was titled, “Service Learning - It’s Elementary! Teacher initiated service learning at an independent school"

"I have been a Social Studies teacher in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District for over 20 years. Married Joseph Santo on July 13, 2007. We have two sons, Joey and James."

I graduated from Stetson University College of Law in May 2005, passed the Florida Bar Exam and have been practicing law for the past 20 years. Now I teach Judges and juries how certain laws should be interpreted.

"After teaching elementary school for 5 years, I got my Masters in counseling and became a school counselor. I worked at all levels, but had more opportunity to work with students directly through classroom guidance, small group sessions, & individual counseling as an elementary counselor! I was fortunate to also serve as a Florida Department of Education School Counseling Consultant and help to develop a Florida Student Development
Program! In retirement, I continue to use my teaching & counseling skills through volunteer work!

Salley Martin’s photo taken at her church where she is actively involved in mission outreach programs. She has tutored incarcerated women and helped those who lack reading skills. She’s also been a job coach and helped the unemployed & underemployed with job search skills! Her new volunteer role is to be an ally to individuals experiencing poverty! USF gave her an outstanding background to have impact throughout her life!

Life has been wonderfully busy since my days at USF! Professionally, I have had the privilege of serving in a variety of higher education and executive leadership roles dedicated to advancing early childhood education, including faculty and administrative positions in higher education and, most recently, serving as Executive Director of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC). My work continues to focus
on strengthening the early childhood workforce, supporting quality improvement, and building meaningful connections between educators, families, and communities.
On the personal side, my husband—also a proud USF Bull—and I will celebrate 28 years of marriage this summer. Some of our favorite memories have been made supporting USF together as Lifetime Alumni, UClub donors, and enthusiastic supporters of Bulls athletics. These days, life keeps us traveling between Austin, Texas, and Tampa, Florida, allowing us to remain connected to both our professional pursuits and our beloved USF community. Go Bulls!

That is a photo of yours truly. It was taken in my last office before retirement. Many sales awards from various business broker trade associations hang on the wall. “I am living proof that you can make it in the Florida (FREC) specialty of business brokerage, retire on a fifty-foot pleasure yacht and acquire waterfront properties! All done by offering services to business buyers and sellers!

In June 2024, I was appointed as the Assistant Principal of Muller Elementary Magnet School.

"I founded and serve as Executive Director of a Jacksonville-based nonprofit organization called Little Hands, Big Hearts, whose mission is to develop primary-aged children and their families into the next generation of servant leaders who think beyond themselves for the greater good. Visit www.littlepeopleserving.org to learn more.

Erin Anthony, USF c/o 2004 (CAS) & 2008 (COE). Taken while passing through The Great Rift Valley in Kenya, East Africa (returning to Nairobi from Nyahururu) upon facilitating training on “Trauma and Its Impact on the Brain” for the staff and students of the St. Rita Evergreen School. The school is supported by Global Development Project-Kenya, an international NGO and focuses on extending love, hope, and healing to girls and women who have experienced gender-based violence and have evidence of the experience (trauma, children, disease, shame, broken relationships).

After retiring in 2009 from 35 yr Career in industrial chemistry & minerals mining, I reinvented myself into published poet and award winner playwright.

Susan Wegmann earned her BA in Elementary Education in 1985 at USF, her MA in Curriculum and Instruction
from Univ. of Mississippi in 1996, and her Ph. D. in Curriculum and Instruction from UF in 2001. Since 1996, she has served in a variety of roles in higher education (faculty and administration), and most recently transitioned
to Valdosta State University as the Executive Director of VState Online/Online College for Career Advancement.

I am now a professor of teacher education at Penn State University, working hard to instill the same kind of teacher leadership lessons I was taught as a preservice teacher at USF.

My brother, Nathan, and I both won the distinguished graduate award for our graduating classes in the College of Education. It’s a huge point of pride for us!

In May, 2025, I graduated with my Doctorate in Higher Education from Grand Canyon University, and I am grateful to be able to continue to work on a college campus. For 10 years, I worked in Valencia College-East Campus in Orlando, Florida in the Office of Student Development, overseeing all of our student activities on our campus.

In September of 2021, I landed a position in the Office of Student Involvement at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and for three and a half years, I worked with and oversaw two large student groups: our Student Government Association and the Student Funding Board, which oversees club funding requests. In the spring of 2025, it was time to get back to my community college routes, and I have now landed in the Office of Student Life at Northern Virginia Community College on the Annandale Campus, working in Student Activities.

This cohort photo was taken in the spring of 2010 in the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida. At the time, our College Student Affairs program was hosting a mock interview session to help prepare us for the Placement Exchange at the annual NASPA Conference. As graduate students preparing to enter the profession, we spent countless hours refining our resumes, practicing interview questions, and learning how to present our experiences and skills to potential employers. Looking back, it was both an exciting and nerve-wracking time. We were on the cusp of beginning our careers in student affairs, and many of us were preparing to travel across the country in hopes of securing our first professional positions. What I remember most, though, is the sense of community. We were more than classmates—we were a cohort. We supported one another through classes, assistantships, late-night study sessions, and the job search process. The mock interviews were designed to prepare us professionally, but they also reminded us that we were all navigating this journey together. Sometimes a photo captures more than a moment—it captures the beginning of a profession, a community, and a lifetime of impact.

Appointed Assistant Principal of Buffalo Creek Middle School for the 2026-2027 school year in Manatee County.

Spring Graduation 2026 T2L3 Manatee County’s Cory Bernaert, Michelle Hajduk, Candice Woodworth, Kelly Smith-Williams

Marcia Ford retired as Director of Grant Acquisitions for Polk County schools. During her tenure the school district enjoyed tremendous success at attracting competitive funds for a variety of programs. She chaired the national organization for accredited certification of grant developers, the Grant Professional Certification Institute, when it worked with USF’s Institute for Instructional Research and Practice to craft an examination system that is valid and reliable. Launched in 2007, it now awards credentials internationally.

More recently she has had articles published by the nation’s largest state genealogical society, conversed with several scholarly authors of early American history through the international Poor Richard’s Book Club, and volunteered as a local history preservationist.

Attending USF St Pete when we had our classes in the barracks for 2 years! Snack bar in the middle of the classrooms. Most fun!

R. Janet Walraven completed her Masters in Education, Curriculum and Instruction, at the University of Washington in Seattle. She taught in Florida, New Hampshire, Washington, Colorado, private and public, where she continued learning and loving teaching. She also had her own school, K-8, for several years. Janet has published four award-winning books.
www.rjanetwalravenauthor.com

R. Janet Walraven, M.Ed., sharing the International Award Winning Readers’ Favorite “Connect for Classroom Success: A Mentoring Guide for Teachers K-12.” At every event, this book purchased is gifted to a teacher.

Worked in Education Queensland, Brisbane Australia for 42 years. Roles include teaching Physical Education, Alternative Educator, Outdoor Educator and Guidance Counselor in High Schools. Married for 43 years with one son.

30 years as a museum curator and educator, 13 years as a school librarian, world travels and graduate school at SUNY, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Seated: Evelyn and George Ledford Standing: Margie Townsend (Martin) and Susan Ledford (Duncan) 1968

The lessons I learned in Counselor Education have served me well through life. I have about 30 patents for inventions in a wide variety of different fields, but mostly energy, power, and heating and cooling our homes.

I’ve visited every spring in Florida since my retirement! Beautiful experiences along the way.

Married with three children. Earned my masters degree in Curriculum and instruction-Elementary Education and have been named teacher of the year at my school site multiple years and a top 4 finalist in my district.

I enjoyed being on the bleeding edge of how AI is affecting education and how to leverage it to be a future forward educator.


MISTTIC Noyce NSF MTF Cohort 2 Graduation Day

Working as the Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences before I retired in January 2025.

Danielle Franke will be beginning her 22nd year with Hillsborough County Schools. She currently resides in Pasco County, with her husband, two children and two dogs.

Bear Bash, End of Year Celebration, at Schwartzkopf
Elementary School

After graduating, I taught Pre-K4 and Kindergarten in an an early childhood center in Immokalee, FL, for three and a half years, followed by two and a half years in an elementary school in Gibsonton, FL, teaching in a multilevel bilingual program, as well as first grade. I left teaching for eleven years, working for three insurance companies. I was married for 38 years, recently widowed, and have a 39 year old son. I returned to teaching in 1991, working at the same elementary school in Plantation, FL until I retired in 2016. I taught various grades in the ESOL Program as well as Spanish as a special, and three years in special education inclusion.

After graduating, I married my amazing husband, Donald, adopted two children, had 2 more children, and began mentoring new teachers. I am almost done with my Masters degree for Ed. Leadership too!

This was our cohort visiting a local school in Costa Rica. We brought supplies to donate that day and spent time with the students playing learning games and reading with them.

Since graduating, life has been a wonderful, busy whirlwind! I am happily married, a proud mom to two incredible children, and we are thrilled to be welcoming our third little one this October. Professionally, I stepped into my dream role as a business owner, launching my own educational services company. Balancing life as a mom, a passionate educator, and an entrepreneur keeps me on my toes, and I absolutely love every single minute of it!

Started new job as Assistant Director of Manatee Technical College this June.

I had 13 USF and St Pete College interns. I mentored them. I attained my Masters in Educational Leadership. I have the Reading Endorsement and ESOL. It would be an honor to teach future teachers. It has always been my dream.

It was taken in my 39th year of teaching for Pinellas County Schools and mentoring USF interns. I hold onto the dream of teaching future teachers.

My husband and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and our sweet daughter will be 24 at the end of August. My husband is also in the education field. He recently retired from being a High School Assistant Principal in Bronx, NY as well as being an adjunct English professor at a local community college. We now play a lot of pickleball together, where we live in The NYC suburbs. Our only child, a sweet and gentle daughter, who is almost 24, has profound autism, and helping her lead a happy and productive life is our family’s life mission and number one priority always! She is making tremendous progress and amazes us everyday!

Me and my good friend, Mindy (Birnberg)Jewett, who I met in Delta dorm in 1991.

In June 2024, I was appointed as the Assistant Principal of Muller Elementary Magnet School.

I am now the Founding Principal of a brand new virtual school launching in the fall called National Heritage Online Academy - North Carolina!

Aliya Norman, Kalli Holland, and Alexandra Bubley

I’ve been married since 2020 to the love of my life, and we now have two sweet children together as well as an adorable German shepherd! I’m entering my 10th year of teaching and I currently teach middle school ESE ELA.

This was taken at NAPDS in 2017 in Washington D.C. In this photo is Lauren Gomez, Allison Forsman, Angie Hooser, Lauren Clark, and Brianna Cahoo (Hand). We traveled to present our research together and represented Cohort 7!

Currently serving as the English Department Chair at Lakeland Senior High School and Artist-in-Residence/Adjunct Faculty at Harrison School for the Arts. Scores on the annual state ELA assessment at Lakeland Senior led the district this year. Under his direction, Harrison’s spring production of Water for Elephants: The Musical, the first non-professional production in Florida, also took home awards for Outstanding Musical Direction and Outstanding Orchestra, among other honors, from the Straz Center’s Broadway Star of the Future program.

This is the 2026 iteration of the Anchors Away Travel Club at Lakeland Senior High School/ Harrison School for the Arts. Here we are pictured on the beaches of Barcelona on the final day of our 10-day educational tour to Madrid, Barcelona, and the Basque Country of Spain. This trip marked the 5th anniversary of the club; in that time, over 80 students and family members have learned more about the world through hands-on, on-location, cultural experiences.

In 2021, I was selected as the Pinellas County Teacher of the Year. I went on to be named the Florida Teacher of the Year from among 185,000 educators. I returned to my district and am now serving as an Assistant Principal at Belcher Elementary in Clearwater, FL.

I was named the 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year by the Florida Department of Education.

Julia Genkinger has served her home county, the Saint Lucie County School District, since her graduation in December 2020. She will graduate with her master’s degree in Educational Leadership in December 2026. She is currently engaged to her fiancé, David.

Married 2019 Teacher in Gwinnett County Georgia (County Course Curator 2025-Present)

I have been a Social Studies teacher in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District for over 20 years. Married Joseph Santo on July 13, 2007. We have two sons, Joey and James.

USF Graduation me and my grandmother, Frieda Formato.

I have been volunteering in first at DeBary Elementary since 1999. I taught first grade in Europe. When I got back to the States, my Department of Defense teachers certificate was not allowed. If I wanted to teach, I would have to go back to college. Volunteering is a lot more fun! 🤩

Taught marine Biology for 12 years. Moved to the Florida Keys to work at the Sea World’s Shark Institute (lecturing to college groups, public science course, collecting sharks for attractions & supplying scientific specimens for researchers.), and retired as manager of Keys Marine Laboratory for the Florida Institute of Oceanography.

During our college years Manny & I opened The Painting Shed right from his parents' backyard in West Tampa. It was the way we earned extra money to go out to dinner on our date nights!

Terry, Nana Rose, Manny USF Campus SunDome Yuengling Center