At Penn State alone, there are approximately 300 College of Education alumni working in various capacities across multiple campuses, colleges and administrative units. Regardless of their positions, which include professors, managers, administrative assistants and chancellors, they agree that their degree from the college has helped them in their career. Here is what some of them had to say:
What can you do with a College of Education degree?
Based on the careers our graduates have pursued, the answer is 'almost anything.'
"My education formed a strong foundation for my career in higher education. My understanding of the issues pertaining to higher education, particularly in regard to tutoring centers and supporting students with disabilities, deepened through my learning and research as part of the Master’s of Higher Education program.” — Linda Rumfield (1991, 2018), Learning Center coordinator and disability coordinator, Penn State Lehigh Valley
“The doctoral program and my experiences as a graduate assistant at Penn State were very helpful in preparing me for these roles, and the faculty and administrators were excellent mentors.” — Keith Hillkirk (1987), chancellor, Penn State Berks
“My degree from the College of Education has helped me deal in particular with the planning aspects of my job. My degree also has enabled me to come up with programming and events that add value to the membership of the organization I direct.” — Wally Richardson (2003), director, Penn State Football Letterman’s Club
“My degree sure has taught me to overcome adversity, to pick myself back up and jump back on the horse, and to keep the goal in sight.” — Jenny Blew (1984), administrative assistant, College of Arts and Architecture
“My degree initially enabled me to land a position as one of the lead trainers in a major database conversion program. Afterward, I was provided the opportunity to hold classes to educate staff on multiple software programs. My degree in education has provided me the ability to relay information to others in a manner that is clear and concise, but most of all, relevant.” — Cheryl Harrison (1978), regional alumni director, Penn State Alumni Association
“Having been in my advisees’ shoes, I feel empathy and understanding toward them when they come to advising appointments. I like to think my advisees feel a sense of trust and hope when they visit with another College of Education graduate who has walked in their footsteps and is now able to help them begin their own career journeys.” — Suzanne Dannenmueller (1982), academic adviser, College of Education
“Because I am in the business of raising awareness for Penn State’s online degree and certificate programs, the LDT program’s blended approach has proven to be beneficial. The curriculum emphasizes design-thinking methods and has been valuable to me when working with teams that leverage project management processes.” — Aaron Hagenbuch (2017), marketing strategy specialist, Penn State World Campus
“My degree allowed me to gain the needed experience as a classroom teacher to be able to teach future classroom teachers. I feel I was hired very quickly after graduation because of the outstanding reputation the College of Education possesses.” — Kristen Pearson (1998), assistant teaching professor, Penn State Altoona
“Everything I do is informed by my coursework and experiences in the higher ed program. I came to the program directly from my undergraduate coursework, but the age and career diversity of my peers taught me as much as the faculty.” — Jessica Hoffman (2013), director of the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration, Graduate School
The following list includes the current Penn State employees who earned degrees in the College of Education, who responded to our request for information. While we could not use all of them in the story, we wanted to acknowledge them here.
- Sean Agnew: B.S.
- Eliza Altenderfer: B.S.
- Sarah Anderson: M.Ed.
- Susan Anderson: B.S.
- Tim Balliett: M.S., Ph.D.
- Sheila Dianne Barlock: M.Ed.
- Albert Bartlett: Ph.D.
- Bonnie Bixler: M.Ed.
- Brett Bixler: M.S., Ph.D.
- Jenny Blew: B.S.
- Chris Brida: M.Ed.
- Debbie Brooks: Ph.D.
- Nina Bumgarner: B.S.
- Wei-Fan Chen: Ph.D.
- Beth Clark: M.Ed.
- Sue Cromwell: Ph.D.
- Lisa Curley: B.S.
- Suzanne Dannenmueller: B.S.
- Kaleena Davidson: M.Ed.
- Kirk Diehl: M.Ed.
- Teresa Diehl: Ph.D.
- William Diehl: B.S., Ph.D.
- Pam Driftmier: B.S., M.Ed.
- Linda Porreca Duerr: B.S., M.Ed.
- Beth Mincemoyer Egan: B.S.
- Jennifer Eury: M.Ed., Ph.D.
- Sharon Fong: M.Ed.
- Jordan Ford: M.Ed.
- Megan Foster: B.S., M.Ed.
- Chris Gamble: M.Ed.
- Chris Gamrat: M.Ed., Ph.D.
- Carolyn Griess: Ph.D.
- Kelly Griffith: Ph.D.
- David Guthrie: Ph.D.
- Leigh Ann Haefner: Ph.D.
- Aaron Hagenbuch: M.Ed.
- Meg Handley: Ph.D.
- Cheryl Harrison: B.S.
- Alla Hatfield: M.Ed.
- Karen Henninger: M.Ed.
- Natalie Hernandez DePalma: Ph.D.
- Shirley Hetrick: M.S.
- Rosemarie Hibbler: M.Ed.
- Keith Hillkirk: Ph.D.
- Jessica Hoffman: M.Ed.
- Cathy Holsing: M.Ed.
- Deb Houser: B.S.
- John Hurst: M.Ed.
- Courtney Karmelita: D.Ed.
- Shubha Kashyap: Ph.D.
- Joshua Kirby: M.S., Ph.D.
- Melissa Kunes: M.Ed.
- Anita Leone: M.Ed.
- David Lieb: M.Ed.
- Peggy Lorah: D.Ed.
- Laura Miller: M.S., Ph.D.
- Jenn Moore: B.S.
- Ron Musoleno: B.S., M.Ed.
- Terry Musser: Ph.D.
- Linda Muthler: B.S.
- Mary Napoli: Ph.D.
- Dana Naughton: Ph.D.
- Moradeyo Olorunnisola: M.Ed.
- Marce Pancio: M.Ed.
- Kristen Pearson: B.S.
- Rebecca Pennington: M.Ed.
- Kelly Praskovich: M.Ed.
- Kaitlin Quigley: Ph.D.
- Victoria (Torrie) Raish: Ph.D.
- Wally Richardson: M.Ed.
- Jenay Robert: Ph.D.
- Gregg Rogers: M.Ed.
- Karen Royer: B.S.
- Linda Rumfield: B.S., M.Ed.
- Karen Schall: M.Ed.
- Maria Schmidt: M.Ed.
- Jennifer Seller Miska: M.S.
- Steven Shaffer: D.Ed.
- Kate Sillman: Ph.D.
- Janet Spearly: M.Ed.
- Lauren Steinberg: M.Ed.
- Carmen Strand: M.Ed.
- Dana Stuchul: Ph.D.
- Ellen Taricani: Ph.D.
- Ann Taylor: Ph.D.
- Amy Thul-Sigler: D.Ed.
- Christa Watschke: B.S., M.Ed.
- Lauren Watson: B.S.
- Bobby White: M.Ed.
- Marcus Whitehurst: M.Ed., Ph.D.
- Shirley Woika: B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
- Vivian Yenika-Agbaw: Ph.D.
- Sarah Zappe: M.S., Ph.D.
- Bill Zimmerman: M.Ed.