Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Faculty of Education Alumni - Fierce Dino Pride!!

An update on a project close to my heart that I have been working on for the last two years: Faculty of Education Alumni Profiles.

As a Four Time Alumnus - PhD 1998, M.Sc 1995, B.Ed 1993, B.A 1993, and an active member of the Education Alumni Chapter, I believe it is so important for our prospective students to become aware of the many diverse and exciting pathways that an undergraduate or graduate degree from the Faculty of Education, University of Calgary offers. I also believe it is very inspiring and motivating for our current students to learn of the ways in which their peers and alumni are translating their degree into satisfying careers and making a contribution to their community.

Originally, I started contacting a few alumni that I knew, and worked with each of them to prepare a profile using some broad themes:  your degree and when you graduated, memorable experiences in the Faculty of Education, what you have been doing since convocation, and how you stay connected to the Faculty.  I believe the Faculty of Ed Communications team helped me to publish about ten stories for our Alumni Profiles website in the first few months. As of today, The Faculty of Education has profiled thirty-five of our alumni on our website, along with contributing several extended Alumni stories to the U.Today and Education website (for examples: Cervatiuc, Nixon and Broughton).

I find it amazing to read about the significant accomplishments that Faculty of Education Alumni have achieved in teaching, coaching, counselling, leadership, international work and innovation in a variety of sectors - from education, to technology, to health care and transportation. Honestly, Education Alumni are making significant contributions and influencing their professions, their fields of study and their extended communities.

My goal is to populate the Education Alumni Profile site with the diverse stories that our graduates from all programs have to tell:  PhD, EdD, M.A, M.Sc., M.C., B.Ed! Ideally, Faculty of Education Alumni will began to contact us and offer to submit a profile. Consider this blog a part of our call to action for our thousands of Education Alumni - please contact me about writing a profile and submitting a photo for our growing website. It will be my pleasure to hear from alumni like you, and to work with you to profile your story.