Ensuring a Successful Educational Transition Through Relationships Building with Dr. Melissa Wicker

What percentage of American Students go into higher education?

About 15 million students are enrolled in an undergraduate program. Roughly 8.6 million are pursuing a bachelor's degree. In 2020, about 63% of people who completed high school or earned a GED certificate immediately enrolled in college. As of 2020, 40% of all 18-24-year-olds were enrolled in a postsecondary program, www.Best.colleges.com  reports.

Dr. Melissa Wicker, PhD serves as the Assistant Director of Outreach, Zarrow Institute on Transition and Self-Determination at the University of Oklahoma. 

“In my current role, I conduct custom training and professional development programs to foster long-term relationships with over 100 schools, districts, and education departments on a national level with a focus on individual needs. I've initiated 25+ research- and evidence-based literacy and transition presentations for national audiences via online and physical modes of engagement, and managed multiple outreach inquiries while maintaining information security for institutional stakeholders. I have advised and guided over 15 grant-funded postgraduate and doctoral students.”

Some of my key achievements in this role are:

• Spearheaded development and management of eight-part annual summer professional development series leading to $35K in revenue and over 200 registrants within two years.

• Supported research projects and grant writing efforts including 10 state and national grants valued at over $11.8M and $2.2M in fully-funded grants.

• Oversaw online assessment system consisting of over 12,000 accounts in addition to coordinating purchases, disbursement of assessment, and training and support. She joined me this week to tell me more.

For more information: https://www.ou.edu/education/centers-and-partnerships/zarrow

Email: [email protected]