First Year Academy Faculty

Diane has worked at Wake Tech since 1999 in a variety of roles. In 2014, she began developing the ACA 122 course and has been teaching the course in both seated and online formats since then.

She is originally from Morgantown, W.Va., and earned a B.A. in Psychology from West Virginia University. She earned both an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Stacy is passionate about student success at Wake Tech and beyond. With a B.S. in Education and an M.Ed. in Reading, she enjoys teaching students of all ages.

Deanna has spent 20 years in education, joining Wake Tech in 2010 to serve in a variety of faculty and student success roles. She joined the First Year Academy as the Lead ACA 090 instructor in Spring 2021. She is passionate about holistic student support.

Deanna has a BS in Math and Science Education from North Carolina State University and an MS in Counseling from UNC-Greensboro.

Cathleen has been teaching the past 11 years in North Carolina. She joined Wake Tech full time in 2014 and is passionate about student success and engaging online learners. She is EPIC certified and looks forward to working with students in seated or online classes.

Cathleen has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Westfield State University and an M.Ed. in Reading from Meredith College.

Nicole enjoys teaching ACA because each student in her class is unique and has great potential.

Originally from Baltimore, she came to North Carolina to attend Campbell University, where she earned a B.S. in Education and an M.Ed. in Math Education.

Sara enjoys teaching ACA 122 because of the unique opportunity it affords students to research things they are interested in, like colleges and careers.

She is a North Carolina native who obtained a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is EPIC30 certified and teaches seated, online and hybrid courses.

Marc has been a professional educator since 2007 and began teaching at Wake Tech in 2018.

An alumnus of Wake Tech and North Carolina State University, he also earned a master's of education at Xavier University and an MA in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College. He also serves as a chaplain in the United States Army Reserve.

Queen joined First Year Academy in 2019 with a passion for inspiring students to be their best. She is dedicated to student development and pairing students to educational resources so they can focus on learning.

As a Virginia native, she earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Alabama and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.

Jetta is dedicated to helping students achieve their goals. She is a New York native who also spent many years in Greenville, N.C. She strongly believes that ACA courses, along with the many resources at Wake Tech, will better assist students as they move forward in their endeavors.

She has a B.A. in Psychology from Winston-Salem State University and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from North Carolina Central University.

Christina joined the First Year Academy team in August 2014 and works daily to promote student success and achievement. She was born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs but relocated to North Carolina after she completed her bachelor's degree. She continued her education at North Carolina State University, earning an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction.

She serves as an On Course Ambassador and on Wake Tech's On Course leadership team. She is EPIC 30 certified and is working to improve Wake Tech's online EPIC training program.

Marcia is enthusiastic about helping students learning how to navigate college and career choices. She is a native of Raleigh and has a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature and a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis, all from North Carolina State University.