n a warm spring day, Cynthia Levatte is discussing different types of families and the stages of human development with a group of high schoolers at Early County High School.

After a half-hour of lecturing during which she combines questions to the class with lots of eye contact, writing on an overhead projector, and a few bars from a popular song, Levatte divides the class into groups. Each group is to develop a five-minute skit demonstrating a particular family type and stage of development.

Rather than leave the students on their own, Levatte spends time with each group, helping them consider the best way to show family interactions, using the opportunity to further explain the information.

“No, if you’re the adoptive mother and your children don’t behave you can’t take them back to the adoption agency,” she tells one group. “If you were a foster mother, you could do that.”

Throughout the class, whether she’s lecturing or talking to small groups, Levatte has achieved the Holy Grail of all teachers – her students are “engaged.” Located 45 miles southwest of Albany, 11/2 hours from Tallahassee, Fla., and 30 minutes east of Dothan, Ala., Blakely, Ga., the county seat of Early County, is far from the cultural and intellectual diversity found at the University of Georgia.

Early County is also a poor county. In fact, it’s the third poorest in the state of Georgia. Fewer than 30 percent of Early County High School’s graduates will seek any sort of higher education, far fewer will complete their degrees.

But after completing her degree in family and consumer sciences education and spending two years as a recruiter for the UGA Admissions Office, Cynthia Levatte (BSFCS ’98) is in the midst of her third year teaching family and consumer sciences at her high school alma mater.

“I thought I would go to graduate school,” Levatte said of her original career plans. “But then my former FACS teacher, Charla Allen (MEd ’85, Home Economics Education), was named executive director for the Georgia Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. She called me and said, ‘We need you to come back.’”

Levatte agreed, joining another former teacher, Pam Childs (BSFCS ’89, MEd ’90), at Early County High School. Currently, she teaches two Orientation to Life Skills classes, one of which emphasizes leadership development; and Family, Community and Careers, which focuses on human development throughout the lifespan.

“I remember the butterflies I had on my first day,” she said. “I had prepared, but you never know what the day is going to be like when there are 90 different personalities involved. Being new and naïve, I thought I would make a difference instantly, but then there’s a reality check. You realize that you may not make a difference in a day, or maybe not even in a year. But you can make a difference.”

Levatte’s own experience as a student points to how great a difference a teacher can make in a student’s life.

“ I’m the first in my family to go to college,” said Levatte, who has five brothers and a sister. Her father worked as a truck driver while her mother worked in a sewing factory.

“ I was active in FCCLA beginning in ninth grade. I knew I was a smart girl, but I had no clue what I would do with my life and certainly didn’t think this skinny, nerdy girl could make any kind of a difference,” she said. “Through FCCLA and my FACS classes I learned to set goals. I learned that life didn’t have to be happenstance and that even as a teen, I could impact my family, school and community. I became a national leader in FCCLA, which opened my eyes to so many opportunities.”

During this time, Charla Allen and Pam Childs became Levatte’s best friends, providing her support and guidance as she began thinking about her future.

“ I applied to UGA with Pam and Charla’s encouragement, as well as to other colleges, never thinking that UGA would be my choice,” Levatte said. Fortunately, acceptance to UGA and a chance meeting with FACS Dean Sharon Nickols swayed her decision.

“ When I was a senior in high school, I went to Atlanta during the General Assembly to receive a certificate from state Sen. Harold Reagan. While I was there, I met Dean Nickols and some of the College Ambassadors,” she recalled. “Whatever I had heard about colleges, I always heard that administrators were removed from the students. But, Dean Nickols came over and gave me her card and invited me to visit. That definitely sold me on UGA.”

Levatte’s university experience expanded her knowledge of many areas.

“Coming to UGA wasn’t easy,” she said “It was hard coming from a small town. Here, life is still, in many ways, black-and-white. But although UGA is predominantly white, there are students from 114 other countries. It was such an opportunity to learn about other cultures. I bring that to my students now. I’m able to use the experiences I had at UGA to broaden their horizons and to encourage them to think openly.”

While her classes are predominantly female, Levatte said more young men are joining the Orientation to Life Skills classes, which this year is focusing on leadership. Students are examining the leadership styles of a variety of people, including a close look at the leadership and demographics found in Early County. In addition, the students develop their own leadership projects, such as one just approved to mentor elementary school students.

“We encourage students to earn dual graduation seals so they’re prepared both academically and technically,” she said. “FACS classes are very much designed for those who are college-bound, because even students going to college need to understand money and time management. Some people believe that good parenting and personal development and management are accomplished by instinct. They’re not. Those are skills you have to learn.”

While Levatte sees the value of FACS classes to all students, she’s particularly aware of their importance to those who won’t attend college.

“ The majority of our graduates will go to work at a fast food restaurant, in the poultry industry, at the sewing factory or at a peanut company,” she said. “We have a great need for child-care employees in this area. Our graduates who have taken the child and family development classes will be far better prepared to provide quality care for the babies and young children in our community.”

“ Families are the foundation of society,” she continued. “If we don’t make proactive efforts, we allow the world to change by happenstance and societal ills will continue to plague society.”

But for those who are willing to set goals and influence others’ lives there’s the opportunity to encourage a student from a small town in Georgia to travel to a big university, learn about the world, and return to teach another generation about the impact of the individual on society and the world.