All About Alumni!

Teacher Preparation and Professional Development is dedicated to supporting our alumni by offering professional development and support after graduation. Our alumni have gone on to successful and innovative careers.

Jerilynn (Jeri) Nettesheim, 2000
Dyer Intermediate School (Burlington, WI)

Jeri spoke fondly of UW-Parkside and loved her time here and has "warm feelings" about the university. She relied on her advisors for their support during her time as a student. There were always faculty and staff here at the university that would be advocates for the causes that were dear to her. As a nontraditional student she was not afraid to speak her mind. She had her challenges at the university, but overcoming them helped her to grow and continue to help her navigate the politics of teaching. Read more about Jeri

David (Dave) Dvorak, 2010
Riverview School (Silver Lake, WI)

Dave appreciates that he had the ability to do so much while at UW-Parkside. He felt that if he had gone to a larger UW school he would not have had the chance to be in so many activities, and the list is long. As a student he was a member of the following groups UW-Parkside groups: Wind Ensemble, Jazz En-semble, Brass Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Community Orchestra, Community Band, Master Sing-ers, and pit band. Due to UW-Parkside's commitment to engagement he was able to tour middle and high schools with these ensembles and volunteer in local schools. Dave feels that the location of UW-Parkside in the middle of Milwaukee and Chicago is ideal for networking and learning about music and the arts. Dave also appreciated the size of the university he said "You don't get lost in the crowd, you know the professors by name and they know you." Read more about Dave

Julie Chase

Tremper High School (Kenosha, WI)

Julie Chase spent 9 years teaching junior high and loved it, but made the leap to Tremper High School when they made the change from junior high to middle school. The structure of junior high was 7th - 9th grade and middle school now consists of 6th - 8th grades. She loves what she does, and has the 2nd highest seniority at KUSD for language teachers. She is able to guide other educators through her work teaching Spanish for Educators for KUSD. She has also guided new educators working as a cooperative teacher for the past 18 years. She has worked with 15 student teachers, always Spanish teachers, and feels it is her duty to help them understand what they need to improve upon. She said it is "Hard to give up control, hard to see them struggle". Julie had freedom to make mistakes, and she allows this in the process as well, but uses it as a learning experience. Being a parent herself, she understands that "When they are done with me they could be teaching my son's 8th grade cl ass." She also said that "Work ethic is #1 to me. I expect student teacher to put in 100%, it is not just a job, this is a life choice forever. Read more about Julie.

Teresa Murphy,2010

McKinley Middle School (Racine, WI)

Teresa started attending the University of Wisconsin-Parkside part time in 2005. She majored in English and received her Teaching Certification for grades 6-12. She graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). Theresa originally attended UW-Madison and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts for graphic design. She worked as a graphic artist for several years, but decided to go back to school at UW-Parkside. What she enjoyed most about her experience at UW-Parkside was the opportunity to develop a rapport and friendship with both professors and fellow classmates. “Being a smaller university, UW-Parkside gave me the chance to have multiple classes with the same professors and get to know my classmates.” Theresa also worked as a writing tutor in the Tutoring Center which gave her “valuable experience working with students.” Read more about Teresa

Teresa Trawitzke,1999
Dyer Intermediate School (Burlington, WI)

When Teresa was asked “What are a couple of things you were able to take away from your college experience, and apply to your teaching?” she responded that, “Definitely the attitude of confidence I gained while at UW-Parkside continues today. The plethora of observation experience, conversations and networking with outstanding teachers has carried over into my career. My experience with technology (at that time) and desire to implement what I had learned was new and refreshing for my new colleagues and administrators.” She also commented that she has “a general desire to uphold the highest standards for public education, regardless of setting or status as well.”Read more about Teresa

Mike Cyzak, 2007
Bradford High School (Kenosha, WI)

Mike Cyzak attended UW-Parkside from 2001 - 2007. For the first four years Mike focused on his English/Language Arts degree. He also received a certification in Professional Writing, a Secondary Education certification and then outside of the educational field, he received a Film Studies certificate. “The love of learning, the love of inquiry, the idea of having inquiry based passion in the classroom, the idea that you can never know enough, never feeling like you are finished with a topic, doing best practices, and looking for better ways to do things” are all things that Mike took away from his experience at UW-Parkside. Read more about Mike

Timothy "Keith" Griffin, Jr., 2011

Gifford Elementary (Racine, WI)

Along with community engagement and collaboration being important hallmarks that he took with him from UW-Parkside, Timothy also felt that there were other important skills that he took away from his college experience that he is applying in his classroom today. He feels his conducting and knowledge of the voice are strong, which he attributes to what he learned from Dr. Kinchen. While in college he researched the unchanged voices of students and that continues to help him today being an elementary music educator. Being energetic and having a strong ability to improvise helps him in his every day teaching of young children. But most of all, UW-Parkside helped him to discover his core values, which he tries to instill in his students: determination, wisdom, expression, and inspiration. Read more about Timothy

Joseph Diaz, 2007

Indian Trail High School & Academy (Kenosha, WI)

When asked what Joseph felt he was able to take away from his college experience that he applies today, he replied that he “Likes to get to know all of his students.” The professors at UW-Parkside were available and down to earth, and he wants to be that way. His sister talked of her classes with hundreds of students and he appreciates how small the class sizes were for him. He also wants to be available and help his students find answers to their questions. He tries to find easier ways for his students to learn. He believes that “How math is delivered makes a big difference in how it is understood. If students experience success, they feel they are good at it, and enjoy it.”Read more about Joseph

Teacher Preparation and Professional Development would like to hear from you if you are an Educator Alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. An Educator Alumni group is being formed and we would like to capture your story as a student, find out where you have been, and learn about your accomplishments since your graduation. Please contact Mary Jo Jiter at 262-595-2152 or email jiter@uwp.edu if you are an Educator Alumni.