You graduated from BHS in 1972, correct?
Yes, and my classmates were wonderful friends; we had some great experiences and a number of us have reconnected on Facebook sincethe passing of Rosie Rodabaugh Dolan in 2010.
I am sure I remember watching you twirl with fire during half-time shows. When did you start twirling lessons? Can you still twirl a baton? Were you also a dancer?
I started dance and baton at the age of five taking lessons at Hauenstein Studio in Ada. People seem to remember fire baton as dramatic because the stadium lights were turned off so it was really dark! We performed with fire during half time at homecoming traditionally, as well as at a couple of other games each year. I am still a certified twirling coach, although my daughters are much more current, having studied with Daylene Davis Boehm for a number of years. The dancing went right along with the twirling in our family ^aEUR" for both my sister,Jane,and me. In high school we danced at a studio in Lima ^aEUR" along with Debbie Giovinazzo Garlock, who has the local Dancers Elite studio where my two daughters took lessons throughout their growing up years.
What else were you involved in during high school? Any special memories you would like to share?
A great experience was serving as the editor of the Buccaneer yearbook, working with classmates and our advisor,Evelyn Falk,to produce a book of memories to last a lifetime. It is always a quiet satisfaction when at class reunions folks are enjoying looking through the yearbook and recounting their special high school memories. Living only a few blocks away from school made participating in cheerleading, band, choir, plays and other events very manageable ^aEUR" one of the great things about living in Bluffton.
What was your first job? What was the most important thing you learned from that experience?
Teaching baton and dancing was my first job at Kathy Lehman^aEURTMs studio on Main Street and at Smith-Walbridge summer camps in Indiana. What I learned was that each student is unique and that being successful as a teacher means setting up the circumstances for each learner to experience success. I feel very blessed to have worked with a number of wonderful young people and have enjoyed staying in touch and watching them grow into the fine folks they are today. And I am grateful to their parents for giving them the opportunity to participate in the lessons.
In what car did you take your driver^aEURTMs test?
It was my parents^aEURTM ^aEUR" John and Dorothy Herrmann ^aEUR" Ford Falcon and it did not have power steering, air conditioning, or a radio as I recall ^aEUR" and I also have a fond memory of helping my dad install a radio so we could listen to CKLW tunes while driving around town!
Where did you go to college? What was your major?
Undergraduate was at Findlay College ^aEUR" now the University of Findlay. My brother, Joe, and I both went there, and we were commuters; driving that Ford Falcon back and forth. For the master^aEURTMs degree, I drove to Bowling Green State University for several years after teaching at Lima Bath during the day and through the summers. The University of Dayton is where I completed the doctoral degree and I drove there after working the day at Apollo. During residency, the classes ended after 10:00 p.m. and I got back to Bluffton about midnight; allowing for about four hours of sleep before the next work day. Weekends were studying and writing marathons. The undergraduate degree major was health and physical education. The master^aEURTMs was guidance and counseling and the Ph.D. major is educational leadership. In addition, I have completed coursework at Wright State and the University of Cincinnati and combined, the classes helped me earn six Ohio licenses in education- including various teaching, counseling, administrative and superintendent credentials.
After graduating from college, what were your plans? Did you teach for a while?
I taught science, health and physical education at Upper Scioto Valley the first year after graduating. Then the next year I went to Bath Local schools where I taught physical education and later English. At both schools I worked extracurricular positions. During the years at Bath I earned the master^aEURTMs degree. So those were the first nine years.
When did you decide on a long-term career in education? What led you first to a master^aEURTMs degree and then a doctorate? Did you always plan to earn a Ph.D.?
I always wanted to be in education ^aEUR" from the time I was a kid and my sister, cousins and I put on plays during family holiday gatherings. So, it was always a long-term expectation set by my interest and the support and encouragement of parents and teachers. When I was teaching at Bath, I heard some other teachers talking about earning their masters^aEURTM degrees and I listened to what was involved and how they managed to fit the classes into an already busy schedule. Then I thought about what direction would be helpful for me to expand in and that would open new career possibilities and decided on the guidance and counseling program at Bowling Green. I first became interested in a doctorate when taking classes with Dr. James Houdeshell while at Findlay. Then in the master^aEURTMs degree program the professors were Ph.D.^aEURTMs and Ed.D.^aEURTMs and as I listened to their career and life pathways, I became more even more interested. I also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jon Rockhold at Apollo and he was a positive leader and role model for me as well. Over the years I expanded broadly in the area of licensures and then while working on the superintendent license it seemed like the time to pursue the terminal degree and that is when I entered the Ph.D. program. In our family, we three kids were first generation college students so it took some time to understand that pursuing a Ph.D. was a viable option. It was with the support, sacrifice and encouragement of my mother and daughters, along with a number of colleagues and friends that I was able to earn the doctorate in four years.
Tell me about your new position at Franklin University. Can you describe the position and responsibilities? What do you enjoy most about expanding opportunities for adult students?
Franklin University has over 260 community college partners in 33 states including Rhodes State College and Owens Community College, as well as 35 career technical school articulation agreements. I lead the development and execution of community college and career and technical school relationship-building and engagement strategies. I enjoy helping learners with access to higher education opportunities.
How did you get to this position in your career? I know you were at Apollo for a long time, and then at a school in Toledo. What did you do in those positions?
During the years that I was working in P-12 education and taking additional classes, I developed an interest in working in higher education. At the Lucas County Educational Service Center I served as Executive Director, and provided curriculum, professional development and special education services to multiple districts in the Toledo area. While I worked in Lucas County, I also became an adjunct professor for Bowling Green State University and Ashland University and those opportunities helped me make the transition to higher education. Also during this time, my doctoral committee chair, Dr. Theodore J. Kowalski and I wrote a chapter for a 2008 book edited by Hoy and DiPaola titled Improving Schools: Studies in Leadership and Culture and this experience also connected me to opportunities in higher education. Gaining an agency trainer credential in Cognitive Coaching by training and co-presenting with a national trainer has been another experience that has prepared me well for this new role.
At Apollo I began as a Career Specialist serving 11 districts with career development services for students K-12. Carol Craig Thomas was my supervisor and she had worked in publishing for a number of years. We developed and then published Work Windows, a career and curricular support for teachers to develop activities for students through a publisher in California and that is still in publication today. Later I moved into a number of other roles that provided experiences in counseling, marketing, job placement, and administration. A great innovative educational model that Apollo participates in is High Schools That Work, and through this initiative we experimented with various change processes to improve learning for students. One example is a cross-curricular team that built an ^aEURoeApollo Math Model^aEUR
