Story: Phillip Tutor | Photo: Betsy Compton
Ware, Ware-Parks enjoy their family’s ties to the university
There鈥檚 a symmetry that often blossoms between sisters, shared commonalities that become unmistakable. Ebony Ware-Parks and Kiera Ware could have enjoyed such a uniformity when they chose colleges.
Instead, Ware-Parks graduated from .
Ware graduated from .
And today?
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of a UWA family now,鈥� Ware said.
In December, Ware-Parks and Ware — teachers from a family steeped in the education profession — received their master鈥檚 degrees from the . Theirs is a story of shared interests, shared careers and, now, shared alma maters. Their family鈥檚 UWA ties also include an uncle, Anthony Brock, principal of in Montgomery, who is pursuing his doctoral degree through UWA this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very big in our family to continue our development as educators and as teachers, honing our craft,鈥� Ware said.
The spice sprinkled atop the Ware sisters鈥� UWA story is how they came to the university in the first place.
Ware, 29, is a ninth-grade history teacher at聽George Washington Carver High School聽in Montgomery. Ware-Parks, 27, has taught elementary classes in baby直播 and New Jersey and now teaches at聽聽in Atlanta. The older sister, wanting to 鈥渟harpen鈥� her skills as an educator, was the first to research graduate schools that would accommodate her hectic schedule.聽
鈥淚 was looking to possibly move out of state and move up the chain as far as occupations within education,鈥� Ware said, 鈥渁nd in order for me to do that, I knew I needed to gain that master鈥檚 degree to put me a step ahead and get schools looking at me.鈥�
She could have returned to her undergraduate alma mater, AUM, where she was close to her college鈥檚 dean. But the online options available through UWA鈥檚 College of Education were attractive, as were the word-of-mouth recommendations she picked up along the way.
鈥淓veryone said nothing but good things about UWA,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 did my research and I was looking around, but with the flexibility of UWA and the convenience of being able to be a teacher full-time and go to school and work on my master鈥檚 degree, it was a perfect fit.鈥�
Ware鈥檚 undergraduate dean tried to keep her from straying to another school. 鈥淏ut I just told her that I felt in my heart that I needed to go to UWA,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith the flexibility of the schedule of my classes, I couldn’t have picked a better school to go to.
“UWA did an amazing job of creating a sense of community even though we were in a virtual online space.鈥� — Ebony Ware-Parks
Ware-Parks noticed her sister鈥檚 enthusiasm, a daily commitment to teaching her students and studying for a graduate degree while trying to find time for sleep. UWA didn鈥檛 merely gain a new graduate student; it gained two.
鈥淚 would come over to her house sometimes and see her working on Blackboard and completing her assignments,鈥� Ware-Parks said. 鈥淪he kind of pushed me to go ahead and pursue my master鈥檚 degree, as well. She didn鈥檛 have to twist my arm at all.
鈥淲hat I really liked at UWA was the different start times; I loved how UWA splits their semesters into two. That flexibility right there, and the convenience to be able to pursue my master鈥檚 while simultaneously teaching in another state, was really the selling factor for me.鈥�
Though from Montgomery, neither of the sisters had ever visited UWA鈥檚 Livingston campus before enrolling as online students. That unfamiliarity didn鈥檛 give them pause, they said, because, in Ware鈥檚 case, her 鈥渃oworkers had nothing but good things to say about the university. That sold me.鈥�
Parks-Ware quickly became a believer in the College of Education鈥檚 online program. Professors, she said, fostered an atmosphere of dialogue when students discussed each others鈥� work through online posts.
鈥淚t is different going to a university online,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, I believe the professors did a great job of creating a sense of community amongst my classmates 鈥� UWA did an amazing job of creating a sense of community even though we were in a virtual online space.鈥�
On their shared commencement day, Ware and Ware-Parks received more than their master鈥檚 degrees. They particularly enjoyed the smile on the face of their mother, Evelyn Davis, a special-education teacher at聽Wares Ferry Road Elementary School聽in Montgomery.聽
鈥淚t was extremely special, but really it was special for our mom,鈥� Ware said. 鈥淪he kept bragging that 鈥楤oth of my girls are graduating!鈥�, so we really did it for her. She received her master鈥檚 (from baby直播 State), as well, and we just wanted to kind of keep the tradition going in our family.鈥�