Amid the industrial drumming of sand printing machines and the click-clack of people excavating molds at the UNI Foundry 4.0, you will find a first-year doctoral student studying curriculum and instruction. Nate Bryant buzzes around the students learning metal casting, employing the teaching methods he is learning in his program.
Communication studies is not just newspapers and rhetoric; Matthew Bancroft-Smithe’s work in the Interpreters Theatre is walking proof of otherwise. Bancroft-Smithe is a second-year graduate student in UNI’s Communication and Media program. In Fall 2022 he began a unique new graduate assistantship in the Interpreter’s Theatre, which is the black box theater residing in Lang Hall. Part of the Communication and Media Department, the Interpreters Theatre is a performance laboratory for performance studies class, workshops, and full-length productions.
This semester, University of Northern Iowa students in the clinical mental health counseling graduate program had the opportunity to put their skills to work by facilitating support groups for caregivers of people with dementia.
Much of librarian Anne Marie Gruber’s job is spent aiding students. Her favorite memories are ones where the library helps students overcome learning barriers. For instance, one graduate student never learned to type and was not meeting due dates. Gruber taught them about “speech to text” programs so the student could get their ideas on the page. “When I was able to identify some of the barriers for them and say, ‘hey, try this, this will make your life easier,’ and then they were able to succeed — that's what is gratifying for me.
Amy Garrett moved from Mumbai, India to Shanghai, China in 2014 while enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Northern Iowa. Garrett achieved a job as a technology coach at Hong Kong International School because she strengthened her skills in the University of Northern Iowa’s teacher leadership for international educator’s master’s program, which is designed to help current teachers working in international schools advance into non-administrative leadership roles.
Megan Stull is the recipient of the 2021 Alumni Service Award. Stull served on the UNI Alumni Board of Directors for a decade, acting as both vice chair and chair of the board. The Alumni Service Award recognizes UNI alumni who have shown long and continuous service to the university and their community. Stull currently serves as the administrative assistant to UNI Vice President of University Advancement Jim Jermier.
