Lindsey Horton and Sabrina Willis met in Willis’s classroom through a teacher mentorship program as Lindsey was finishing up her B.S. in English Education at UGA.  Willis loved to mentor Horton because of her enthusiasm for teaching kids. Lindsey was doing so well that “by the end of the semester, it was really more of a co-teach thing.” said Sabrina.

    Horton wanted to continue her education by pursuing a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology, Gifted and Creative Education.  Her goals were to teach gifted students and to become a guidance counselor and curriculum planner.  But she needed the schedule flexibility and the ability to travel that only online learning could provide. It was important to her that her masters degree hold the same prestige as her University of Georgia undergraduate degree. Once again her mentor was there to help guide her. 

    Willis encouraged Horton to pursue her graduate degree online at UGA. Willis said, “We talked about how you can study with a top-notch program but your life can continue.”

    Sabrina Willis had earned her B.S. in English Education from UGA in 2005 and began teaching at a nearby school.  She, like many teachers, decided to continue her own education earning a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology, Gifted and Creative Education through classes offered both online and on campus.  A teacher’s schedule isn’t always conducive to attending a fully on campus program. “It would have taken me a lot longer to finish if I had not taken online classes”, says Willis. “I had to help my grandmother, who was having some health issues, and since I was doing online classes, I was able to continue with my classwork while I was sitting in her living room when she was recovering from surgery in Colorado. It was helpful in my life as a teaching, full-time-working adult.”

      Thanks to Sabrina’s mentorship and Lindsey’s drive, Lindsey is one of the online Gifted and Creative Education program’s brightest graduate students and UGA online learning advocates. “I would absolutely recommend UGA online. You have to be careful because I don’t think all universities offer similar programs, so it’s important to investigate what the program consists of, but I can say that at the University of Georgia, it’s a good program where you can get a good, high-quality education. You can come away with a lot of things that you can use in the classroom.”