Val Sharpe came from a family of teachers, so it was only natural that she would become a teacher herself. She graduated from Hood College in 1976 with a degree in Early Elementary/Special Education. She spent 17 years teaching in Baltimore County, before becoming an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Hood College. Through the years she worked in various positions, and then retired from Hood College, only to be contacted for a position at Towson University. Little did she know that the position was actually located at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG). Upon stepping foot on the USG campus, she knew this was a place she wanted to be, and promptly accepted the position as program director and faculty member for the Early Education/Special Education program (EESE) at Towson University at USG.
In her five years at USG, Val has become well-known as being a dedicated leader who goes above and beyond to support her students academically, emotionally, and professionally. As the program director, she arranges all of the internship placements and serves as the liaison at seven different schools around the county. She is an advisor for the student Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) at USG and brings students to the CEC convention every year, including this year where she was a presenter. Recently, Val was honored with the Kendall Service Award for Outstanding Program Director, for which she was nominated by her students and peers.
Every day she serves her students, the program, Towson University and USG in an exemplary fashion, with her palpable love of teaching children, professional connections, positive and caring attitude and warm smile. This is why Val Sharpe is the featured faculty member for the spring 2015 Faculty Focus.