NGCSU | University Relations


	The Forsyth County off-campus program through NGCSU rekindled Jeffrey Parrish’s passion to become a teacher. He finished his bachelor’s degree in history education through North Georgia in May.

DAHLONEGA (July 28, 2006) – Jeffrey Parrish has some idea of what to expect when he begins his new career teaching middle school. Parrish, age 50, admits he’s off to a late start in the education field, but he already has years of life experience in several subjects.

“I’ve been a volunteer park ranger, firefighter, cowboy and a soldier in Civil War reenactments,” says Parrish, who will start teaching sixth-grade social studies at Gainesville Middle School in August.

“I’m trying to come up with ways to get these 11- and 12-year-olds interested in reading and learning about history and geography,” Parrish says of his new teaching assignment.

Being an educator has been a dream of the former marketing director since the 1980s. Family and financial obligations prevented him from pursuing that ambition until recently.

The Forsyth County off-campus program through North Georgia College & State University rekindled Parrish’s passion. With the moral support of Dianne, his wife of 32 years, he finished his bachelor’s degree in history education through NGCSU in May.

Parrish, who spent his first career in marketing, eventually opened his own promotional-products business, Jeff D. Parrish and Associates in Cumming, Ga., which he operated for five years.

Along the way, he spent time herding cattle on a ranch in Wyoming at the base of the Bighorn Mountains, where he lived for a while. Parrish also has enjoyed traveling to European and Asian countries, which will help him teaching geography.

The self-proclaimed history buff is excited about teaching and hopes his enthusiasm for history rubs off on his pupils.

He gained insights during his intern teaching with sixth graders in White County and high schoolers in Habersham County.

“It was good to see the different age groups and the differences between them in their maturity and perceptions,” Parrish says. “My assortment of experiences then showed me that it’s easier to get the young kids excited.”

Civil War, World War II and ancient history are Parrish’s favorite subjects. In Wyoming he served as a Union soldier in Civil War reenactments and doesn’t pass up any opportunity to visit historical battlefields. His spring trip to Washington, D.C., right before he received his degree, included a stop at Gettysburg.

On NGCSU’s annual Honors Day in April, a military history segment featured soldiers from various historical periods engaging in rifle shooting, sword fighting and other warfare demonstrations. Parrish participated in the Confederate Army camp, where a loud artillery cannon was the main attraction.

Life experiences coupled with his college curriculum prepared Parrish to help educate a new generation of students.

“My course work was heavy in the social-science classes,” says Parrish. “In the secondary-education program the focus is on your field of expertise.”

Wasting no time, Parrish immediately applied for graduate school and will start the master’s degree program in the School of Education at North Georgia this fall.

Parrish and his wife recently sold their home in Forsyth County to move into what will eventually be their retirement home in Habersham County. Their daughter Marcie, 30, lives nearby in Demorest.

As the first day of classes approaches for the new middle schoolers and the middle-aged Parrish, he says he plans to spend the next 20 years teaching.