On Thursday, April 13^th, at 1:30 pm, the College of Arts and Humanities will welcome back alumni Kara Chatham (BA in English), Valerie Williams (BSE in Secondary Education, English Language Arts), and Lea Atchinson (BSE in Secondary Education, English Language Arts) as they host the virtual English Department Alumni Panel as part of the Write, Southerners! Reading series. 

“The goal of the panel is to have alumni ‘come back’ and interact with students”, said panel moderator Dr. Jennie Vaughn. “The Reading and Lecture Series committee (Drs. Donaldson, Southwick-Thompson, Rattner, Tigner, Douglas, Messina, and Vaughn, and Ms. Sasser) hope the panelists will talk about their journeys from JSU’s English department to their current professional positions. Additionally, we hope they will share some of the things they learned during their time at JSU and how those lessons have helped in their professional journeys up to this point.”

Valerie Williams

Valarie Williams is currently the Dean of Academic Support at Point University in West Point, Georgia. Mrs. Williams has been a Point University employee for over eight years. She oversees all student services related to student academic success and retention, which include but not limited to: Library Resources, Tutoring Services, Registrar’s Office, Advising Center, and Disability Support Services.

Valarie works directly under the CAO and collaborates with multiple departments, faculty, and staff on (but not limited to): student appeals, academic dishonesty, institutional partnerships, retention strategies, policies, process improvement, academic technologies, large events such as commencement, diversity/equity/inclusion initiatives and departmental customer service implementation. She is also a current board member of the THINC Academy in LaGrange, Georgia, and holds a leadership office within the State of Georgia’s registrar organization, GACRAO.

Mrs. Williams hails from Saks, Alabama, and has a BS degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English Language Arts from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. She’s a certified Alabama teacher with both Latin honors and special honors in her field. She has many memberships to a variety of professional organizations and honors societies via JSU.

Valarie also holds an MS degree in Post-Secondary Education with a concentration in Instructional Technology from Troy University in Troy, Alabama. She has also gone on to complete PhD coursework via a graduate fellowship position in Instructional Development and Design from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.

In her spare time, Mrs. Williams loves participating in the arts as well as enjoying food and travel with her family. She volunteers and donates to a variety of charitable organizations throughout the community. She participates heavily in her local church each week by helping with children’s church, worship, ladies’ small groups, and community events. She also pours into the Point University population by teaching adjunct courses, and her favorite classes specifically focus on assisting freshmen. She also volunteers with the Fine Arts programs and leads small, spiritual formation, student groups at the University. Valarie enjoys spending time with her husband, Shannon Williams (also a JSU alum). They have been married for nineteen years and have one daughter, Madelynn, who is currently a music major at Point University.

Lea Atchinson

Lea Atchison is a K-12 ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher who provides language services and support to all English learners in the Clay County School system. Lea started her career with Clay County Schools as a first-year teacher in 2015, where she taught Spanish, English language arts, and drama classes at Central High School prior to stepping into the role of ESL teacher for all four schools in the Clay County School District in 2018. In this role, she not only teaches English learners—she also works closely with other teachers and administrators to ensure that English learners are receiving appropriate quality instruction in the classroom. Lea holds a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education—English Language Arts from Jacksonville State University and a Master’s degree in English for Speakers of Other Languages from the University of South Alabama. She is married to her best friend (who is also a teacher), and she is a twin mom to the sweetest one-year little old boy and the sassiest one-year-old little girl!

Kara Chatham

Kara Chatham is a multi-passionate storyteller. Her favorite storytelling mediums are writing, photography, and vlogging. She has used those passions to serve organizations like North Point Ministries and Chick-fil-A. Kara presently serves with Chick-fil-A Canton in an administrative capacity but will assist with marketing and media needs from time to time. She also runs her own media company, iN Sight Creative, where she assists different clients with their media, marketing, and branding assets. She believes in the power of story, which fuels everything she does. Especially her life-long goal to be a published author, which she has been documenting her writing process on her YouTube channel – imaginationnerd.