Nearly 90 Alabama high school students interested in making teaching their career path visited Troy University on Thursday for the College of Education’s Future Teacher Summit.

The students, who came from came from as far north as Shelby County and as far south as Mobile, were welcomed by Dr. Kerry Palmer, Dean of the College of Education, and heard a keynote address by Reeivice L. Girtman, Superintendent of Ozark City Schools and a TROY alumnus. The group also attended the University’s annual Helen Keller Lecture and had the opportunity to hear from students and professors from the Department of Teacher Education.

“The goal of the Future Teacher Summit was to bring high school students interested in teacher education to Troy,” said Dr. Joseph Johnson, Chair of the Department of Teacher Education. “Getting them on campus allowed us to describe our education programs to them in person, and also allowed them to see our beautiful campus and high-quality facilities. I think this event was a smashing success based on the number of attendees and the positive feedback we received from the teachers who accompanied their students. Faculty in DTE, especially Angela Carpenter and Cathy Lott, and current education majors represented TROY in a very commendable fashion.”

Dr. Johnson said the students who attended the Summit now have a better understanding of what TROY’s education programs require.

“We were able to cover general studies requirements for our education majors, and then the specific course sequences our education majors follow,” he said. “We also were able to emphasize the importance of taking the correct courses in any dual enrollment program, which will help potential education majors have a leg up when they get to Troy. We also shared very important information on licensure tests all teacher candidates in Alabama are required to take and pass.”

Ultimately, Dr. Johnson and the faculty in the Department of Teacher Education wanted to provide a good campus experience for the visitors.

“We wanted to introduce our education programs to them, but also give them a chance to see the campus and the many engagement opportunities TROY has to offer,” Dr. Johnson said. “I consider it a positive that these visitors were able to attend the Helen Keller Lecture series and hear retired Army Staff Sgt. Murphy speak. They were also able to experience the dining hall and have conversations with our education majors. I heard from the chaperones that our panel of current students helped ‘seal the deal’ for some of their high school students, so I’m very proud of how our current students presented our programs.”