Speaker Encourages Students at UW College of Education Dean’s Fall Welcome

More than 240 students, faculty, staff, friends and supporters of the University of Wyoming’s College of Education attended the Dean’s Fall Welcome -- an opportunity to connect as a college community at the beginning of the academic year -- and heard from Dean Jenna Shim and student-selected keynote speaker Courntney Cook Bales, an educator, content creator and teacher influencer Monday, Sept. 14, at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.

During the event, Shim thanked the college community members for their hard work and commitment and welcomed them to the new academic year. As part of her remarks, she shared her own experience arriving in Wyoming 17 years ago and her decision to stay and build a career in the state, as well as welcoming Cook Bales during her first visit to the state.

Cook Bales, in her first university speaking engagement, drew from personal experiences and spoke about teaching, resilience and the importance of relationships in education. After her keynote, students spoke directly with Cook Bales, asked questions and continued conversations from the evening’s program during a student meet-and-greet.

Cook Bales, who has about a decade of experience in education, has built a national audience through her social media content covering teachers’ experiences in and out of the classroom and her popular “teacher lunch videos.” She earned her undergraduate degree from Kennesaw State University and her graduate degree in secondary English education from Georgia Southern University.

Her selection as keynote speaker reflected students’ interest in hearing from an educator with experiences and an online presence that connect to the realities of the teaching profession, organizers say.

For more information about UW’s College of Education, visit www.uwyo.edu/education/index.html.