“If teaching is what you want to do, be persistent and work hard,” said Dr. Deborah Zopf, a Mathematics instructor and the advisor of the Future Teachers Association.
Zopf is working at the Pre-Education Conference on October 18 from 4 to 8 pm in the Administrative Services and Conference Center (ASCC). At the conference, university representatives and guest speakers will talk about child development, special education, becoming a professional teacher, and much more. This will be the tenth year this conference has been held at HFCC.
The purpose of the pre-education conference is “To inform the community about the program, and to meet universities and to get scholarships,” said Zopf. “[Since 2002, the] purpose [was] to inform students and the community about the HFCC Pre-Education Program.”
Eastern Michigan University, Wayne State University, Marygrove College, University of Michigan-Dearborn, and University of Detroit-Mercy will be attending the conference.
One of the conference’s guest speakers will be Mr. Francis Mustapha. Mustapha taught in the United States and when he retired, he returned to his village in Sierra Leone to build a school for children.
Professor Mary Tropanier-Street, Amy Helling, Sharon Brighton, Lori Parks, Virginia Harder, and Tracie Varitek will also be speaking.
Zopf loves the students at HFCC and wants to help the ones who aren’t able to go to a four-year university take advantage of opportunities.
“Students in the past have found the conference to be very helpful. I strongly recommend that new students to go to the conference,” said Zopf.
The conference will provide snacks and refreshments. Walk-in registration is $13 and registering in advance is $10. Zopf strongly encourages students to register early so those setting up the conference will know how much food to order.
Contact Deborah Zopf for more information by phone: (313) 845-6430 or email: dzopf@hfcc.edu.