College of Arts and Sciences
“It was a lot of hard work, a lot of long nights, but we both really helped each other as best we could.” — Fallon Brooks ’13 M.Ed., Early Childhood Administration
degree in physical education from a city college and was working as an addiction counselor — a job he did full time while pursuing his Bachelor’s in Applied Behavioral Sciences at NLU. For Fallon, who works part time as a special educa- tion aide for high schoolers in the Chicago Public Schools system, she wished to sharpen her skill set beyond her bachelor’s studies with a Master’s in Ed- ucation in Early Childhood Administration. Both said they truly enjoyed their NLU experience. Fallon liked the support she received from faculty and staff, and Vince gained new perspective that has helped him in understanding and communicat- ing with his clients on the job. “One of the things that really made sense to me at my age is taking a look at your life and, say, some- thing you’ve been doing for the last forty years and see today you need to change it or take a different look at it,” he said. “That was really amazing.” As working adults, both father and daughter also ap- preciated how their programs gave them flexibility: a full-online cohort M.Ed. for Fallon and a 15-month intensive bachelor’s with Saturday classes for Vince. “Once I got in, it was just tailored to my life,” he said. Fallon began her NLU studies first in June 2011, with her father starting in January 2012 — and a new di- mension in their relationship emerged, as father and daughter became peers in academics. “We really just encouraged each other,” Fallon said. “It was a lot of hard work, a lot of long nights, but we both really helped each other as best we could. I think it kind of made us grow a lot closer, too.”
chance to connect even further with Fallon, who spent a period of time living out of state.
Now both are looking at the next step. Vince was able to turn his new bachelor’s into a promotion, as a men- tal health professional with Human Resources Devel- opment Institute in Chicago. Fallon plans to dive back into her work in CPS classrooms, setting her sights on becoming an early childhood education site manager. Ultimately she wants to own her own childcare center.
It’s much to be proud of, and a big group of family and friends were on hand to cheer Vince and Fallon.
CAS News & Notes Lauren Heidbrink, Ph.D.,CAS, published a law review article in the Spring 2013 issue of the American Bar Association’s Children’s Le- gal Rights Journal. Her article is titled “Crimi- nal Alien or Humanitarian Refugee?: The Social Agency of Migrant Youth.” She also served as an invited guest at the Law and Society Associ- ation’s Early Career Workshop in Boston, where senior scholars in the research fields of law and social sciences mentor young faculty. CAS Alumni In The News Diane Picciuolo, Human Services ’98, was re- cently featured in the book ‘Legendary Locals of Aurora’ for her work with the very successful Back to School Fair in Aurora, IL. David A. Cavanaugh, M.S. Written Commu- nication ’13, was recently featured in the Chi- cago Tribune’s “Passion Profiles.”
Vince, a father of three, agreed and said he’s had a
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