2024 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year: Jenny Mohess
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Release Date: 10/10/2024
Meet the 2025 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year: Kim Kayser
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Each year, we are so excited to recognize one of our customers as our CERTIFIED Educator of the Year during our annual CERTIFIED Educator Conference. We work with so many incredible educators, all of whom deserve recognition for their dedication and efforts. We're pleased to announce that Kim Kayser is our 2025 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year! Kim has been teaching as well as learning technology with her students for fourteen years in Santa Rosa County, Florida. For the last ten of those years, she’s been a career and technical educator, helping Woodlawn Beach Middle School students...
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Becoming a Spreadsheet Champion with Carmina Solares
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
What does it take to compete in the MOS World Championship? Now you can find out. Our team was privileged to work with the Australian production company, , on their new documentary, Spreadsheet Champions. During filming, they followed six students on their journey to becoming Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Champions. The documentary has now premiered at the SXSW and Hot Docs Film Festivals, and we could hardly wait to chat with one of the documentary’s stars, Carmina Solares. Carmina is a bubbly 17-year-old from Guatemala who finds comfort in math. During this episode, Carmina tells us...
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Starting a business at your school with Danya Peters
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Ready to get a peek into CERTIFIED 2025? We’re continuing our series of CERTIFIED Educator Conference breakout session previews, and this is for all our business and entrepreneurship educators. Are you looking for ways to teach your students business skills that they’ll take with them after graduating? There’s no better place to learn real-world business skills than in an actual business. So why not start one at your school? Danya Peters did just that. Danya is a passionate business and marketing teacher, DECA Advisor, and mentor to two school-based enterprises. With degrees...
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Teaching learners about upskilling and achieving their career goals with Jessica Lindl
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
The days of linear career paths are over. People are switching jobs more often, making their career journeys more complex than ever. In fact, the found that people only stay in their jobs for an average of four years. That much change and complexity can be intimidating for students and professionals to navigate. How, as an educator, do you get your students ready to enter their own careers, when it may feel like a quest without a map? Enter: Jessica Lindl. Jessica Lindl is the author of and VP of Ecosystem Growth at Unity Technologies. She has over 20 years of experience running...
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AI for teachers: No robot required with Amy Waters
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
We’ve finalized our CERTIFIED Educator Conference breakout and workshop sessions, and we can hardly wait to learn with all of you. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing teaser episodes with some of our breakout presenters. In this episode, we’re learning from Amy Water, an AI aficionado. Amy Waters is a 36-year veteran teacher at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana, with no plans of retiring any time soon. She is a complete nerd who has taught everything from Latin to computer programming and still loves learning new things and sharing that knowledge with everyone. She...
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Becoming a Spreadsheet Champion with Mason Braithwaite
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
What does it take to compete in the MOS World Championship? Now you can find out. Our team was privileged to work with the Australian production company, , on their new documentary, Spreadsheet Champions. During filming, they followed six students on their journey to becoming Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Champions. The documentary premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, and we could hardly wait to chat with one of the documentary’s stars, Mason Braithwaite. Mason is a quirky and endearing American teen whose love for spreadsheets is matched only by his fascination with ham...
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Women in the digital age with Ashley Masters and Ashlyn Dumaw
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
It’s 2025 and we’re ready to close the technology skills gap and support women in tech! According to a report from the (US) , women comprise only 35% of STEM professionals. In this episode, we chat with two amazing women in technology: Ashlyn Dumaw and Ashley Masters. Ashlyn is a senior at Cornell University studying chemical engineering with a concentration in fiber science. She’s passionate about the intersection of STEM and design, or the combination of technicality and creativity. Following her graduation in May, she will be working as a Management Consultant with Qral...
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Teaching techniques to get your students excited about learning with Aaron Daenell
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
One of the biggest challenges teachers face is keeping students motivated. According to a 2023 by the EdWeek Research Center, more than 4 in 10 educators said students are not inspired to do their best in school. To help set your learners up for long-term success, it’s crucial to create excitement and engagement in your classroom. In this week’s episode, we sat down with Aaron Daenell to talk about how to get your students excited about learning. Aaron is a Marketing & Management, Business, and Information Technology educator at Cumberland County High School in Crossville,...
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Empowering the marketers, entrepreneurs, and creators in your classroom
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Marketing and technological expertise are critical not only for marketing students, but also for any student who dreams of building a business, growing an online audience, or sharing a message with the world. In this episode, we sat down with a panel of creative and marketing educators: Aaron Daenell, Marketing & Management, Business, and Information Technology Educator; Jenny Mohess, CTE Department Chair and Graphic Design Educator; and Jodi Pelini, Media Production & Digital Literacy Educator. Together we discussed strategies for nurturing the next generation of business...
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Advice for setting goals as an educator with our CERTIFIED Ambassadors
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
January rolls in with big plans and ambitions for the coming year. However, commitment to New Year’s resolutions often flags by the end of January. To keep you excited and committed to your goals, we sat down with three of our CERTIFIED Ambassadors, Laurene Klassen, Ashley Faulkner, and Karen Coulombe, to talk about 2025 goals. Laurene is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Assistant Director of IT Training & Communications at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She took her first Microsoft Office Specialist exam in 2010 for personal development and has been hooked ever...
info_outlineEach year, we are so excited to recognize one of our customers as our CERTIFIED Educator of the Year as part of our annual CERTIFIED Educator Conference. We work with so many incredible educators, all of whom deserve recognition for their dedication and efforts. We're pleased to announce that Jenny Mohess is our 2024 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year!
Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Jenny Mohess has lived in Osceola County, FL for over 22 years. She first stepped onto Valencia’s Campus in 2000 as an international student. There she earned an A.S. in Graphic Design. While working for Apple, she earned a bachelor’s in business from the University of South Florida, and master’s in art education from Boston University. These experiences led to jobs at Apple, Microsoft, and eventually, her own design studio. Jenny currently teaches at Valencia College and has found genuine purpose in mentoring future graphic/web designers through the Valencia Graphics Program. She is now building the program at Tohopekaliga High School and sharing real-world experiences with her students.
In this episode, we talked with Jenny about CERTIFIED, being named CERTIFIED Educator of the Year, and her experience both in and out of the classroom. She discusses her passion for teaching, and how she overcomes the challenges she faces in education. Plus, she shares her advice for building personal and lasting relationships with her students.
Learn more about Jenny on the blog (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2024/June/2024-CERTIFIED-Eduator-of-the-Year) and on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qoERZFVcGQ). You can also connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenartdesignstudio/.
Connect with your fellow educators, like Jenny, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.
Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.