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A rare moment when everyone is in the same zip code.
I'm Gretchen Thomas and this is my 24th year teaching EDIT undergraduate courses. UGA iss my alma mater (class of 1994, 1996, and 2000) so this is truly my dream job.
I'm from Marietta, Georgia and graduated from Sprayberry High School in 1990 (I haven't said "Go Jackets!" since.) I'm a first generation college student and went to UGA to major in geology. After I found out I needed calculus and a foreign language (my two personal kryptonites) to become a geologist, I changed my major to Middle Grades education so I could teach Earth Science. Thankfully, I also liked middle schoolers or that would have been a huge mistake.
Just a few quick UGA facts before we move on:
I started UGA a year before the HOPE Scholarship existed (but I did vote for the lottery that funds it, so you're welcome).
I lived in Reed Hall before it had air conditioning and Tate just had a movie theater, snack bar, and some pool tables. And I walked uphill both ways to get to class (literally - campus is shaped like a bowl, as I'm sure you've already noticed).
The student fees that I (and my classmates) paid back in the early '90s paid for the construction of the Ramsey Center but we were never allowed to set foot in it since it opened after we graduated. You're welcome for that, too.
UGA was on a quarter system so classes met every. single. day. Pre-calc at 7:50 am Monday-Friday my first quarter on campus - my grade reflected the relentlessness of those early mornings.
I would absolutely not get into UGA if I applied now with the SAT and GPA that I had in 1990.
I taught 6th grade science at Oglethorpe County Middle School from 1994 to 2000. I participated in a grant that provided rural schools access to the internet and have been learning about educational technology ever since. I finished my MEd in Middle Grades Education in 1996 and my EdS in Instructional Technology in 2000. No Ph.D. for me. I was the Instructional Technology Coordinator for Rockdale County Public Schools for a few years and then came to UGA to teach educational technology courses in 2002.
I met my husband Kirk (UGA , 1993, BA in Political Science) on a blind date in 1996. (My parents also met on a blind date - so blind dates aren't necessarily the worst idea ever.) We were married in 1999 and have two children: Maggie who graduated from the University of Mississippi and is starting law school at the University of Wisconsin this fall (Go Badgers?) and Charlie who is 18 and is a second year at the University of North Georgia. Kirk's a prosecutor in Rockdale County so his work stories are a little more exciting than mine. We've lived in Athens, Covington, Snellville, and now Lilburn and I am never moving again.
I live off Diet Coke, iced coffee, and I believe that raw cookie dough is good for your immune system. Ok - it didn't keep me from getting cancer two summers ago but that's old news (but it does explain the really short hair. Could be worse and it was worse.) Currently, my hobbies are grading and writing long random bios for class to avoid grading. And waiting for my hair to grow back - definitely a lesson in patience. If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house right off campus in Five Points and have my morning classes over for breakfast instead of having class in Aderhold.
I think it's always easier to be kind. I believe that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. And I am certain that there is nothing greater than being a part of the University of Georgia. (Although - knowing the difference between [apart] and [a part] is pretty great, too.)
College students are my favorite people and I'm excited for a new semester!
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