WCE Hosts Future Teacher Conference

On October 27, the Watson College was pleased to welcome 124 students from 15 area schools to the Fall 2023 Future Teacher Conference. Future Teacher events, held each semester, give high school and community college students an opportunity to visit campus and learn more about education programs at Watson.

“This fall, our Future Teacher Conference was a success,” said WCE Recruiter Dean Heath. “Students came from all over Southeastern North Carolina to learn more about becoming a teacher, and the vibe at the conference was incredibly positive. I’d like to thank the many teachers and Watson faculty, staff and students who helped to make this a great event.”

The full-day conference featured a series of workshops and presentations, a student panel discussion and a complimentary lunch at Wagoner Hall.

Dennis Kubasko and Somer Lewis (secondary education), Shelby Morge (middle grades education), Jim Stocker (special education), Kit Huelskamp (healthful living and fitness education) and Daniel Johnson (music education) spoke about the range of programs offered for aspiring teachers from Preschool through high school, with many specializations.

Also, at the conference, Dean Heath provided an overview of opportunities at the Watson College, Courtney Townsend introduced students to WCE’s Education Lab, and Beth Carter, John Dewberry and Lauren Shoemaker showcased WCE’s Curriculum Materials Center. In additional sessions,  Michelle Hafey shared ways Sphero robots can be used to teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills, Amber Colon introduced students to Canva, and Grace Burmester explained ways Watson’s Student Success Center helps students get involved and stay connected.

Watson students Emma Brady, Isabella Buccaroni, Rio Konishi, Julia Murphy and Gabby Pastore participated in the student panel discussion.

Participating students said they found the event informational and fun.

“I enjoyed how interactive all of the activities were and the collaborative effort of all of the adults in attendance to answer questions,” one student said.

Another participant said, “ I have attended other future teacher events and they just had speeches and stuff. It was kind of boring because they didn’t show us what to expect. UNCW actually showed us what to look forward to and I really liked that.

Schools that participated in the Fall 2023 Future Teachers Conference were Brunswick Early College High School, Clinton High School,  Duplin Early College High School, Havelock High School, Heide Trask High School, Hoggard High School, Isaac Bear Early College, Jacksonville High School, New Hanover High School, North Brunswick High School, Pender Early College High School, South Brunswick High School, Swansboro High School, West Brunswick High School and Wilmington Early College High School.

The next Future Teacher Conference will be held on Friday, March 15. High schools, community colleges and home school groups that would like to bring students to UNCW’s Watson College to learn about education as a career are invited to attend. For more information, please contact Dean Heath at heatht@uncw.edu.