This week we are proud and excited to spotlight another team member of Brighton College/The Paralegal Institute, Gilda Rada who has embraced our “Why” on Improving Employability Every Day! You may have read a bit about her on one of last month’s announcement, however, due to popular demand we wanted to share more about her role and share some great advice she has as well.

What is your role at Brighton College? I’m the Curriculum Program Manager at Brighton College, my role is overseeing design, authoring, development, and revision of courses for Brighton College and The Paralegal Institute. In addition, I maintain ongoing coordination with student services, SME’s, faculty and senior management, in the areas of course implementation, supplementation, modification and revision of curriculum content, with a focus on continuous improvement to the educational programs our institution offers. In the process of overseeing and coordinating the academic development of our curriculum, I also oversee the timely fulfillment and completion of various ongoing academic projects, which ultimately helps us leverage strategic organizational goals, thus yielding positive student outcomes.

What part of your job do you like the most? I love (not like) my job, and everything I do in the curriculum development process. In fact, effectively planning for our student’s academic development on a daily basis, makes me jump out of bed every morning. The reason behind my excitement, is the realization that what we do today as a department, can have long term effects in our students, our faculty, the institution, and the community.

Have you ever taken online college courses? I am constantly taking online courses for my academic and professional career. In fact, this month I will receive the (CHEP) Certified Higher Education Professional in Online Learning; this certification is one of the many online certifications our accrediting body offers to institutions in distance learning. In addition, I’ve been privileged to take virtual, hybrid and blended courses through various online platforms, which included Moodle, and Blackboard. In traditional higher- learning institutions, I’ve also been involved in the testing and launching of various distance educational platforms. It is certainly exciting to see new and improved adaptive learning platforms in distance education; this improvement allows institutions such as ours, to maintain a high level of student engagement and quantifiable student outcomes, thus allowing us to reach a student population which was almost impossible to reach in the past.

What advice would you give a student attending an online college? My advice to a student attending or planning to attend an online college in 2017 is very simple, “Get Ready to Meet a New YOU.” Today’s students have technology at their fingertips, but not all of them know how to use technology as an educational or a productivity tool, therefore, it is up to us (educators, curriculum developers, faculty, distance learning institutions) to provide the typical components of traditional learning, and adapt this model into a student-centered learning environment. In this new model of distance and adaptive learning, students are capable to work at varying paces, with content created with their abilities in mind, develop greater responsibility towards their own learning, and find a work-life-balance, which they may not be able to find in the traditional model of learning.

Share one of your favorite benefits of why students should attend Brighton College? One of my favorite benefits, which I know students derive when they join Brighton College is in our mission statement, and this is personalization. At Brighton College, we strive to be readily available to engage with students, their needs and circumstances, and yes, academics is at the top of our lists, but we understand first and foremost, that we must be present in our student’s life, like never before, and convey this message every time we interact with them. In fact, when our students experience a high level of engagement through non-traditional interaction, they feel confident in their academic and career growth, and by default we help them solidify the future with certainty in a new era of distance learning.

Be sure to check back weekly as we will continue to spotlight more members of our team. Once again, please join us in welcoming Gilda.

In our series of sharing some of the exciting new additions to our leadership team, this week we are excited to spotlight Sean Dixon who recently celebrated his one year anniversary at Brighton College.

Please take a moment to get to know him:

What is your role at Brighton College? Student Services Manager

What part of your job do you like the most? Everyday brings on a new opportunity to help our students become employable, also the fact that everyday is different in what tasks I will be completing.

Have you ever taken online college courses? Yes, I am currently taking my Bachelors in Business Management, expected graduation date is in February. I have also taken my General Ed’s, and studied Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in an online setting.

What advice would you give a student attending an online college? Creating and sticking to a schedule. I have been in online college for a few years now, gone though different schedule changes which changed my times of getting to school work. Overcoming the objections of schedule changes is difficult, however once the schedule changes you can adapt. Another bit of advice is to login to your course at the beginning of each week, check out what is due, create a plan according to your schedule and keep to it.

Share one of your favorite benefits of why students should attend Brighton College? The care from the staff and ownership team, from enrollment to graduation. The enrollment team really cares and wants to help you be successful, we will not force you into something you do not want. Once you have transitioned over into a student role, the success coaches are here to help answer any questions while helping you progress through the program. I have gone through some colleges where you do not hear from anyone throughout your program, that leaves you feeling alone.

Sean won’t brag but we want you to know he worked his way into his current role by being promoted from the enrollment team. His passion is helping people gain key employability skills training, which is why if you have ever receive an email from him you will see in his signature the tag line “Improving Employability Every Day”.

Great schools are run by great people and we value our talented leadership team. Therefore, we are excited to share key team members of our team at Brighton College. So over the next few weeks we will be spotlighting some of our newest additions. This week we are featuring Rene Nasluchacz who joined Brighton College back in December 2016.

Please take a moment to get to know her:

What is your role at Brighton College? Vice President of Academic Affairs and responsible for the academic department, student services, and compliance.

What part of your job do you like the most? Working with all departments to provide diverse educational options for students. Working with each department allows me to see how every person influences and impacts student success.

Have you ever taken online college courses? Yes. My MBA was completed online and my PhD work is an online program as well, with face to face residency requirements. I have been teaching online college courses for over 15 years.

What advice would you give a student attending an online college? I would advise students to step away from their limitations and cut away any anchors that can impede their success. It is important for students to realize that the only thing holding them back from achieving their goals is themselves. Also, carving out dedicated study and homework time is essential so that school does not come in second or third place on their schedules. Students should surround themselves with positive influences, people that propel them forward and light a fire when needed. Last, balance is key. Balancing family, school, work, and social responsibilities requires a conscious effort to manage one’s time and prioritize so that nothing falls through the cracks or suffers.

Share one of your favorite benefits of why students should attend Brighton College? Students who attend Brighton College have access to industry professionals in every course and program offered. Such connections give students the advantage of being connected with true professionals within their industry of choice.

Rene, is a fantastic addition to the leadership team and we are thrilled to have her experience, professionalism and work ethic. Check back next week as we feature another one of our newest additions.

In our never ending quest to have the best faculty team on the planet, please join us in welcoming four (4) key new additions to the Brighton faculty team:

Gilda Rada, a current Brighton instructor will take on the role of Curriculum Project Manager. She will work with the academic and management teams in prioritizing and completing a rigorous curriculum revision plan that includes data analysis, Subject Matter Expert involvement, and collaborative work flows.

Gilda holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Phoenix. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, advertising, sales, research and business development. Most of these years have been spent in Tucson, a place she calls home. She has managed and consulted with companies like Univision, Azteca America (Mexico/USA) CRG Global, Casino Del Sol, The Pasqua Yaqui Tribe, Jim Click Automotive, SCORE, The SBA and hundreds of local and international companies.

She has been teaching in higher education since 2011, where she had the privilege of utilizing her professional experience as a Business and GenEds Program Director and the liaison between campus and home office, during the adoption and transition of hybrid/blended and online learning. Further, she was heavily involved in curriculum development of Business, GenEds and Medical Programs. Gilda also collaborated and designed the first entrepreneurial Bachelors program and many shorts courses, thus helping increase campus profitability.

She has been the recipient of many awards in both the private sector and various industries in Marketing and Advertising. In addition, Gilda believes that by the power of education, entrepreneurial development, and economic empowerment, one can break down the barriers of socio-economic challenges. Gilda is currently a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, YAO (Young Ambassador Opportunities, an organization driven to empower women around the world to use microloans for their countries development), the Executive Women’s Golf Association and holds a close relationship with the Mexican Consulate, often speaking at their local events about education and economic empowerment. She is ASPA Certified in Campus Administration, Admissions, Compliance, Design and Developing Online Courses, along with Designing Technology-Rich Learning Environments. She is currently pursuing her Certification in Higher Education Professional (CHEP) in Online Teaching.

Lissa Whyte, joins us as the Program Chair for General Education and Business. Lissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Laurentian University, a Certificate in Human Resource Management and Mediation, and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Phoenix. She has been teaching in one capacity or another since 1995 (ESL in South Korea for 18 months), junior high and high school courses for several years before she saw the light and moved to higher education where she feels a strong connection to students. Lissa teaches a wide variety of online business and general education courses at two other colleges and truly enjoys working with students as they pursue their goals.

Lissa has worked in for-profit education since 1998 in various capacities – with a focus on curriculum development, instructional design, and technology integration for the past 10 years. She has been with Brighton College for nearly a year and helps with special projects, including the upcoming DEAC re-accreditation project plan.

Carol Duff, comes on board as our Allied Health Program Chair. Carol has been a dedicated faculty member for several years, teaching a variety of courses: Medical Billing I and II, American History 1 and 2, Skills for Success, Medical Records and also the Medical Records course, Human Diseases, Anatomy and Physiology, and Career Exploration.  She has taught Medical Terminology at another institution in both online and face to face learning environments.

Carol holds a Masters of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Toledo College of Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowling Green State University, with a major in History and a minor in Literature. Carol has been a tremendous asset to the Brighton and Paralegal academic departments, assisting with curriculum development, course revision, and special projects. She brings her experience, education, and passion for helping our students one at a time, each and every day.

Ben Lee, as our Information Technology Program Chair. Ben is the IT Systems Lead at LearnKey, a sister company to Brighton College. He was asked by the leadership at Brighton and LearnKey to design and teach all the tech courses at Brighton College. These tech courses integrate as the main part of curriculum for LearnKey’s video training and testing system.

For the past several years, Ben has been working with LearnKey in developing, testing, and implementing educational online course ware. He is a versatile learner and instructor who is driven by in-depth research.  Ben loves organizing and presenting data that can influence end-users or the bottom line. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Southern Utah University and has advanced training and certifications in information technology, English, music, and has the equivalent of a minor in Mandarin Chinese. Ben enjoys interacting with students and collaborating with teachers, and finds inspiration in his students’ progress.

We are thrilled to have these four individuals who will take on such significant roles on our staff to ensure we are providing the best learning experience and outcome for our students and learners.