School of Education Winter 2024

Alumni Spotlight De’Andre Jones is currently the Di rector of Alumni Engagement at Seattle University where he also earned a Master of Education in Student Development Administration. De’Andre is the recipient of the 2024 Mena Valdez Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award, a national award from NASPA, an association for higher education student affairs administrators. This award recognizes outstanding mid-level professionals in student affairs and services with at least five years of full-time experience in the student affairs field. De’Andre has been involved with the NASPA organization for a number of years, has been actively involved with the NASPA Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community which nominated him for the award, and has enhanced the Latinx/a/o Dawn A. Oler is a recipient of a Ful bright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research to Finland for 2023-2024. She is spending 5 months in the spring at the University of Eastern Finland’s Joensuu Campus studying Finland’s education system and how they recruit high-quality candidates into the education profes sion, something they are known for. In her Fulbright application, Dawn stated: “I believe acquiring information on how Finland promotes education among their youth could be crucial to creating a cur riculum map that can be used to encour age young people in America to pursue a career in education.” She goes on to say that she wants to “create connections to support students’ inquiry into the profession and support them throughout their pursuit of higher education.” Her goal is to bring her research back to the state where she teaches (Illinois) and throughout the nation to support grow your-own programs and encourage the establishment of new programs. Dawn has previously explored education in other countries. She spent two weeks in South Africa in 2017 as part of a delegation to work with and learn from

teachers in the Leap Science and Math Schools which serve black children living in poverty. While there she worked with future teachers as a presenter at the Axis Global Education Summit. She also spent time in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to understand the needs of the community and how they were using their limited resources to provide education in the face of such a devastating event. In addition to her undergraduate degree from UW-Stout, Dawn earned a master’s degree in human development and family studies from UW-Stout, and she also earned a second master’s degree in school improvement leadership from Olivet Nazarene University. In 2012 Dawn became a nationally board certified teacher in career and technical education. In 2014 she was named Illinois Teacher of the Year by the Illinois Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and represented Illinois in the AAFCS National Teacher of the Year Award program. Dawn is currently a family and consumer sciences teacher at the Hinsdale (IL) Central High School and is President of the Illinois Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. community at Seattle University through campus programs and initiatives. De’Andre is the only honoree from Washington State to be recognized this year across all the Mena Valdez Award categories and will be honored at the NASPA National Conference in Seattle, WA in March. De’Andre shared, “Receiving this award affirms the value and impact of the education I received from UW-Stout and Seattle University and represents my commitment to the profession of higher education and student affairs. I am grateful for the mentorship and support I have received over the years from colleagues – locally and nationally. As a queer, first-generation, Afro-Latino, I am humbled by this recognition and look forward to what the future holds.”

De’Andre Jones, a 2016 Family & Consumer Sciences Education graduate and McNair Scholar

Dawn A. Oler, a 2003 Family & Consumer Sciences Education graduate