UCF Student Showcase headlines weekly workshop series ‘HAPPY Hour’

The UCF College of Education will be hosting the 2012 Student Showcase, a professional conference where pre-service student teachers will share presentations on rarely discussed but important topics to the teaching profession.

Scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the event features 100 student presenters speaking on more than 50 topics, and the College of Education expects nearly 500 faculty and student attendees.

The Student Showcase is the crown jewel of the HAPPY Hour (Having Active Participation Prepares You) program, a series of weekly workshops put on by university faculty and certified K-12 teachers. Since last August, students have had the opportunity to attend nearly 90 seminars on aspects of the teaching profession that aren't normally covered in their college courses, such as résumé building and interview skills.

"It's our largest professional development program [in the College of Education]," said Dr. Karen Verkler, chair of the HAPPY Hour committee and one of the founders of the program in 2004.

"There are so many challenges today in the teaching profession," she said. "I didn't see how everything … students needed to know could be covered in their coursework and internships."

One of Verkler's goals when she created HAPPY Hour was to highlight the importance of continuing education for her students, which would help prepare them for the professional world.

The conference has exploded since the first Student Showcase in 2006, which featured 32 presenters in the Teaching Academy. To accommodate the growth, the College of Education has expanded it to the Education Lobby and Gymnasium as well.

Verkler said that the Student Showcase is a chance for students to "get the experience of attending and presenting at a professional conference." She added that presenting is an expected skill for in-service teachers across the country. Student presenters can also apply for two $500 scholarships offered by HAPPY Hour, which can be used to attend a professional education conference of the winner's choice.

Since the event requires students to display public speaking and presentation skills to hundreds of their peers and mentors, it's designed to "really take them out of their comfort zone," Verkler said.

That was the case for senior elementary education major Nicole Yello, who said that she was a shy and quiet student before she presented in the Student Showcase.

"I was the type of student who … participated minimally and didn't think of class outside the classroom," Yello said.

But Yello soon realized that a college education constituted more than just going to class and doing homework.

"It was an opportunity to present in front of a group and participate in a professional conference. … Because I was able to take on something that made me uncomfortable … it gave me immense confidence in myself," she said.

Yello will participate in the showcase for her second consecutive year.

The presentation topics of pre-service teachers, or those students who have not yet been certified to teach, vary from how to teach challenging subjects like math and history to using resources such as iPads and public libraries more often. This year, Yello and another student will be giving a presentation titled "Make Room in Your Closet: Top Educator Must-Haves for Your Wardrobe," which aims to help students assemble a professional wardrobe for when they enter the profession.

"I consider [the showcase] one of the pivotal moments in my undergraduate career," Yello said.

For more information about HAPPY Hour, visit the page on the College of Education website at http://education.ucf.edu/happyhour/index.cfm. On-site registration is $10.