For five staff members in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences (CBCS), professional growth doesn鈥檛 stop at the office. They are balancing their employee roles in CBCS with graduate studies designed to move their careers 鈥 and their impact 鈥 forward.
With recent support from the CBCS scholarship program, Kerianne Beckford, Lindsey Kummerer, Jacob Miltenberger, Lourdes Quinones and Kayvrie Vega are pursuing degrees in fields ranging from business administration and communication sciences and disorders to curriculum and instruction. Although their academic paths differ, each is building on experiences from the workplace, classroom and community to shape what comes next.
For Kerianne Beckford, continuing her education is an opportunity to build on her analytical strengths and prepare for the next stage of her career. Beckford, a unit research administrator, is pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in leadership, combining her interests in finance and business analysis with advanced training in financial management, data analysis and business operations. She hopes to eventually use those skills in positions where she can evaluate organizational performance, identify opportunities and provide insights that influence important decisions.
鈥淧rofessionally, my goal is to work in a role that blends analytical rigor with strategic impact,鈥 Beckford said. 鈥淚 am particularly drawn to positions where I can evaluate company performance, assess opportunities and communicate insights that influence high-stakes decisions.鈥
For Lindsey Kummerer, graduate research assistant, the path to advanced education is deeply connected to experiences that began long before she considered audiology as a career. Kummerer鈥檚 own experiences with hearing loss and medical care as a child shaped her understanding of the patient experience and eventually sparked an interest in the auditory system. She is now pursuing graduate education in communication sciences and disorders while exploring questions that could improve how hearing difficulties are understood and evaluated.
Her research focuses on speech-in-noise perception, particularly why some people struggle to hear in noisy environments even when traditional clinical tests indicate normal hearing. At the same time, teaching has given Kummerer an opportunity to help students develop confidence, think critically and connect what they learn in the classroom to patient care.
鈥淚 want to contribute to improving how we evaluate hearing, particularly for patients whose difficulties are not fully captured by standard tests, while also training future audiologists to think critically and care deeply about their patients,鈥 Kummerer said.
Jacob Miltenberger, academic service administrator, has spent much of his career helping students navigate higher education. Now, his graduate studies are giving him an opportunity to examine a question that has followed him throughout that work: What makes students feel like they belong? Miltenberger is pursuing graduate studies in curriculum and instruction, building on professional experience that spans K-12 teaching, financial aid, academic advising and graduate program administration. Across those roles, he has seen how institutional policies, processes and culture can influence students鈥 connection to their educational communities.
His research interests focus on belonging in higher education, particularly among veteran and veteran-connected students. Rather than searching for a single solution, Miltenberger hopes his work can provide a deeper understanding of the experiences and conditions that help students develop meaningful connections.
鈥淢y aim is not to create a universal formula for belonging, but to contribute nuanced, qualitative insight into the conditions that support it,鈥 Miltenberger said.
More than two decades of working with children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families have shaped Lourdes Quinones鈥 next educational goal: helping more educators effectively support students with autism. Quinones, an autism consultant with the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at USF, is pursuing a doctorate in curriculum and instruction through USF鈥檚 College of Education with a minor in special education. Her career has included pediatric physical therapy, special education and professional training, giving her experience working directly with children, families and educators.
She previously coordinated the Partnership for Effective Programs for Students with Autism, or PEPSA, which helped provide autism-related professional development opportunities for educators across Florida. Quinones sees her doctoral education as a way to build upon that work and continue sharing evidence-based practices with educators.
鈥淚 believe that my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction will help open the way for me to continue training Florida educators in the area of autism and teacher inquiry,鈥 Quinones said.
Working behind the scenes of research at CBCS helped Kayvrie Vega recognize an essential element of successful, mission-driven programs: meaningful work also needs strong financial foundations. Vega, a unit research administrator, is pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance. In her role at CBCS, she supports faculty research through budget management, grant applications and compliance, experiences that have shown her how financial planning can influence whether programs are able to grow and sustain their impact.
Her MBA coursework is helping her build expertise in managerial finance, financial modeling and quantitative decision-making. Vega hopes to eventually bring those skills into a leadership role where financial strategy can help organizations strengthen their operations and better serve their communities.
鈥淟ooking ahead, I hope to step into a leadership role where I can use my financial training to support organizations focused on research, education and community well-being,鈥 Vega said. 鈥淚 want to help them grow in sustainable and mission-driven ways that create meaningful and lasting change.鈥
With support from CBCS, each of these CBCS staff scholarship recipients are investing in what comes next 鈥 for their careers, their fields and the communities they serve.