Alumni
With 68,000 alumni representing the College of Education and Human Services, this represents almost 1/3 of the 200,000 plus SIU alumni. Our college has played a vital role in the development of the university from the very beginning. From the humble beginnings as a Teachers College to the status of today’s comprehensive research institution, our college has been here from the start. We truly are the flagship college of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Charles Prickett, Former Civil Rights Worker
A DeSoto, Illinois native and SIU Alumnus, Charles Prickett joined the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960’s, participating in the March on Washington and the Selma-Montgomery March. In 1964 he went to Mississippi as part of the Freedom Summer, working in Madison County registering people to vote, teaching Freedom School, and doing community organizing. During this time Charles assisted Richard Beymer, actor, director and producer, in making a documentary film featuring the civil rights struggle in Madison County.
In the ensuring years, Charles became an attorney engaged in civil rights litigation. He returned to Mississippi to visit and discover what happened to the people who are featured in the documentary. As part of the presentation, Charles will show the documentary and answer questions about where we have been and where we are going in terms of civil rights in America.
Featured Alumna from SIU’s Rehabilitation Institute
Katelyn Mullen, MS, BCBA
ABA Services Supervisor, The Center for Children’s Services a Division of Aunt Martha’s Youth Services
Ms. Mullen an alumna from SIU, took a different path to receive her master’s degree from the Rehabilitation Institute, via an off-campus cohort program that is offered through collaboration with Trinity Services in Joliet, Illinois. Mullen took two courses each semester, one of which was onsite in Joliet and the other online. In Joliet, the course was offered on Friday night and all day Saturday once a month. A professor from SIU taught the weekend classes. The online course offered a chat room environment.
Mullen said of the online aspect of the class, “There were certainly ups and downs through the whole experience, but that is true about all education experiences. I am so grateful for the professors who gave up one weekend each month and traveled the 5 hours to teach our courses.” SIU is one of only two schools in Illinois that offers a master’s degree in Behavior Analysis. “Without this program, I would not have been able to get my degree,” Mullen said.
Mullen enjoyed her classes on the weekends in Joliet. “We had a group of 15 to 20 students who met to participate in lectures and discussions and to take exams,” Mullen said. There was a huge amount of information that was delivered and discussed during the weekend classes. “I learned so much in those classes and could take the information and use it in my job,” Mullen said. Although Mullen only saw her other classmates once a month, they formed close relationships that have been maintained as they continue in their professional careers. Mullen enjoys meeting her former classmates at conferences and catching up on all the news.
Mullen’s first time on campus here in Carbondale was for her graduation in August 2011 while she and her family celebrated her accomplishment. Since graduating, Mullen has passed the exam to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Currently, Mullen supervises a program that provides Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to children with an autism or mental health diagnosis in their homes. She works throughout Vermilion and Champaign counties in a program which started in January 2012 with only seven clients from her private practice. The program now has grown to employ seven ABA providers and serves approximately 35 clients. Mullen is a proud member of the Saluki family and the Rehabilitation Institute in the College of Education and Human Services.