Learning is your students’ journey. Let them navigate. Push them to explore. Watch them discover. Encourage their questions. Allow them to struggle. Support their thinking. Let them fly.
Krissy Venosdale
7th Annual Mini Conference
Journeys To Learning
Meet Our Keynote Speaker
Dr. Dakeyan Graham
Dr. Dakeyan Cha’ Dre’ Graham, the 2019 Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year, was selected in July 2019 as the 2020 Florida Teacher of the Year, representing 74 school districts and more than 195,000 teachers. During the 2019-2020 school year, Dr. Graham was on sabbatical from teaching and served as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education. In this role, he tours the state delivering motivational speeches and workshops focused on empowering teachers to create the most impactful learning experience possible for their students. He currently is serving as the Executive Director in the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice for the Florida Department of Education.
A product of Hillsborough County Public Schools, Dr. Dakeyan Cha’ Dre’ Graham recently served as the Director of Instrumental Studies at his alma mater, C. Leon King High School in Tampa. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music Education (University of Florida), a Master’s in Educational Leadership (Concordia University), and a Ph.D. in Music Education (University of South Florida). During his 10 years in HCPS, his students consistently demonstrated determination, focus and tenacity as they earned a performance position in the prestigious Carnegie Hall.
​
![Dre-1[1352].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a08dfd_a0aa66add8194d1fa40af3594b5067ac~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_0,w_2400,h_2631/fill/w_540,h_592,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Dre-1%5B1352%5D.jpg)
While serving as the president of the Hillsborough Secondary Music Council and founder of the Eastern Coalition of Music Directors, Dr. Graham travels around the state as an adjudicator for both the Florida Bandmasters and Orchestra Associations. In 2012, Dr. Graham was a finalist for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year and a semi-finalist for Grammy Music Educator of the Year in 2013.
Dr. Graham is blessed to share life with his wife, Casey (also a former educator), and daughter, Aaliyah. His passion is to continue positively impacting the next generation of world changers.
Meet Our Presenters
Taylor Boyer
​
Taylor is an FGCU alum and a Collier County Teacher of Distinction. She will be speaking about the many interesting ways to use on online game platforms in the classroom.
Meet Eagles Educate 2020 Board
 Dr. Penny FinleyThis is my 10th year at FGCu and my 7th year as Advisor for Eagles Educate. The Mini Conference has always been the highlight of the year! |  Kristin LampertHello, my name is Kristin and I am a Senior at FGCU. I will be graduating in December with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. I am so excited to have a classroom of my own, but until then, I am happy to be sharing a classroom at Veterans Memorial Elementary with my 2nd Grade Mentor Teaching |  Kendall MillerHi, my name is Kendall Miller. I am a senior at FGCU studying education and psychology. My future plans for when I graduate is to become a Special Education Teacher. My passion is teaching and that is what I have always wanted to do. I am hoping to eventually get my Masters in Special Education but first, I want to get out in the field and teach! |
|---|---|---|
 Kayla ReslerI am currently a STAR Intern and am working at Tortuga Preserve Elementary as a third-grade teacher. I hope to continue to work there. |  Guiling GuoBecause of I am an international student, if possible, I can stay in U.S I would like to be a kindergarten teacher or 1st grade teacher. If I can't stay in U.S, when I go back to China, I would like to be a kindergarten teacher as well, and in the future probably open my own kindergarten. |  Allison TommeleoIn the future, I hope to have my very own classroom and apply what I have learned from my knowledgeable professors, peers, and mentor teachers to create a warm, happy, and welcoming classroom environment. I plan to look for new teaching opportunities throughout Florida or the Midwest in hopes to be a kindergarten or first-grade teacher. My goal is to provide meaningful and engaging lessons to make learning fun and exciting for my future students. |
 Chris AlcantaraMy name is Chris Alcantara and I am an Elementary Education major. I am currently a senior here at FGCU. After graduation, I plan on teaching 3rd grade students and getting my masters in Educational leadership. |  Savannah BehrensI am graduating in the spring of 2021 with a B.A in Elementary Education. Afterwards I am going to apply in my hometown of Gainesville, FL as a teacher. I don't have a preference of which grade or which school. |  Sam MowersHi! I am Sam Mowers. I am majoring in Social Science with a minor in education. Working with Eagles Educate has been a great experience. |
 Andrea BubickAfter graduating from FGCU with my bachelor's in Elementary Education, I plan to begin my career by teaching elementary students in Collier County. I plan to continue my education by pursuing my master's degree in Educational Leadership. |  Gunnar StewartMy Career plan is to get a bachelors in secondary mathematics education and get a job as a high school math teacher. From there I plan on working on a master’s degree. After the master’s degree I hope to work my way up to university level teaching. |  Aubrey GurneyI am currently a senior at FGCU, majoring in Elementary Education. After graduating in May, I plan on taking everything I have learned here at FGCU and through my internships to my very own classroom. My goal would be to teach kindergarten either in Florida or my home state of Maine. |
 Victoria RebeorI am a junior/senior here at FGCU with a major in early childhood education. I love teaching and it is something I am very passionate about. I aspire to make a difference and help students learn and my dream grade is kindergarten |  Victoria ResselHello, my name is Victoria Ressel I am currently a Senior at Florida Gulf Coast University. I am graduating in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I plan to become a 2nd grade teacher in Southwest Florida. I cannot wait to have my own classroom in the near future and make a difference in the lives of my students. |  Victoria WaskiewiczI am a senior in the college of education working on my final internship. I am looking forward to graduation and having a classroom of my own! |
 Peyton PrausaI am anxious to begin my career as a teacher. This is my senior year and my final internship! |  Grace LitofskyHi my name is Grace Litofsky! I am a junior majoring in Elementary education. I enjoy spending time with my family as well as listing to music. I have worked at a summer camp last summer and it was a great experience! |  Olivia RazaHello! My name is Olivia Raza. I am currently a Junior here at Florida Gulf Coast University majoring in Elementary Education. |
Who We Are
Eagles Educate is an affiliate of the student Florida Education Association as well as an RSO here at Florida Gulf Coast University. All students in the college of education are members of the SFEA. Eagles educate is a club primarily (but not limited to ) education majors. The club meets monthly to share educational topics, listen to special speakers, learn new teaching strategies, mentor new members, and announce ways to be involved with service learning around the community.