OHIO Chillicothe Kappa Delta Pi chapter hosts teacher symposium

Ohio University Chillicothe ’s newly-formed Kappa Delta Pi chapter hosted a teacher symposium for first-year education students on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Students from Instructor Jeanie Dalton’s Introduction to Education class attended the symposium and heard from speakers, including Dean of Campus and Community Relations Roberta Milliken, Huntington Middle School Principal Matt Murphy, and Huntington Middle School teacher and OHIO Chillicothe alumna Mackenzie Ralph.

Kappa Delta Pi is an honor society for education students. The organization provides professional development opportunities while engaging members with scholarship, leadership and service. At OHIO Chillicothe, 12 officers will lead the organization while Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Amy Wolfe and Associate Professor Karen Corcoran serve as advisors. Both Wolfe and Corcoran were members of Kappa Delta Pi as undergraduate students. Students from the  Middle and  Early Childhood Education programs nominated by staff and faculty make up Ohio University’s newest chapter of the honor society for education students .

“I am excited about the formation of this education student organization,” Corcoran said. “Our teacher candidates are not only going to be prepared for this profession but while they are here at OHIO Chillicothe, they will have the opportunity to be servant leaders.”

Wolfe said she remains active in professional organizations and values Kappa Delta Pi for the networking, learning opportunities and professional resources the organization offers. 

“I have loved seeing our local leadership team developing our chapter into an organization that serves their needs and interests,” Wolfe said.

Student leaders Hannah Balusik, Hayden Henthorn, Natalie Rolfe and Hope Crabtree hope Kappa Delta Pi will help fellow education students build strong networks and find support as they prepare for careers in education.

“As members of Kappa Delta Pi, we will create relationships within our schools and community to lay the foundation for our careers as educators," said Balusik.

Murphy and Ralph led participants in several icebreaker activities that exemplified the types of activities that future teachers might employ in their classrooms in the future. Murphy is a member of the OHIO Chillicothe Education Advisory Board and supervises student interns in their clinical field placements as a faculty member at OHIO Chillicothe. He encouraged students to be themselves and remember the character traits that made impactful teachers memorable to them. 

“Remember who you are, where you come from, and what you want to be,” Murphy said.

Ralph, a 2019 OHIO Chillicothe graduate, and a language arts teacher at Huntington Middle School, shared her heartbreaking journey to becoming a teacher. Despite enduring the loss of both parents before reaching college, Ralph persevered in her studies, with the support of her professors, and earned the degree that would enable her to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.  

Last spring, 25 students graduated with degrees in education from OHIO Chillicothe. Ohio University Chillicothe alumni put their education degrees to work serving communities as teachers, intervention specialists, and principals in local and regional school districts.