Full Sail
Teacher Appreciation Week 2022 at Full Sail University
Full Sail celebrated K-12 educators with a week-long virtual conference featuring webinars, giveaways, and more.
Full Sail University’s Teacher Appreciation Week returned in 2022 with a week-long virtual conference that gave K-12 educators from throughout the country opportunities to enrich their professional development. Over 900 teachers from 850+ schools from around the United States participated in the event, which was focused on giving back to teachers with free webinars featuring award-winning Full Sail graduates and industry partners as well as some amazing giveaways on behalf of the event’s sponsors.
K-12 educators from 44 different states were able to learn more about advancements and best practices in tech, education, and entertainment media through a series of free webinars with speakers from industry partners including Adobe, Apple, Dell's Girls Who Game Program, Final Draft, and HP. Notable Full Sail graduates working in tech and entertainment spaces including Larry Katz, Elbert Perez, Leslie Brathwaite, and Dimitri Patino also shared their knowledge with educators.
Three educators were celebrated with Extraordinary Educator awards in recognition of their contributions to the classroom by living what they teach, acting in the best interest of their students, and supporting and elevating the skills of their fellow teachers. Winners were selected in three separate categories:
- Emerging Technology - Justen “Jay” Early was awarded in recognition of his commitment to growing the passion for emerging tech at Nature Coast Technical High School in Florida through STEM initiatives and the development of an esports program.
- Entertainment Media - Shawn Harrel was recognized for his work finding ways to support students’ interest in entertainment media industries at Summit Technology Academy in Missouri.
- Global Educator - Claudia Boy Loecken from Mexico was awarded in recognition of her leadership in art, creativity, and youth education and collaboration with educational institutions around the world through social work projects in Germany, Mexico, India, and the United States.
The final panel invited 2021 Extraordinary Educator award winners Shawn Harrel and Justen "Jay" Early to join educators Maribel Lopez (Timber Springs Middle School, Florida) and Julia Gomes D' Almeida (Colégio São Luis, Sao Paulo, Brazil) for a panel on their experiences as distinguished educators and advice to current K-12 teachers and administrators.
The event was made possible with help from sponsors including CDW Education, STEM Fuse, Sennheiser, HP, Focusrite, Adobe, DELL, Final Draft Scriptwriting Software, and Girls Who Game. In partnership with sponsors, Full Sail was able to give away some incredible prizes for the K-12 educators in attendance. Winners walked away from the virtual week-long event with prizes including iPads, Apple Pencils, Bose headphones, a Nintendo Switch, Keurig coffee machines, Yeti microphones, and more.
Join us in our K-12 Educator Facebook Group to learn more about Full Sail’s Outreach initiatives or to get your school involved!
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