<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/people/sam-williamson.html" dsn="people"><first_name>Sam</first_name><last_name>Williamson</last_name><prefixes/><pronouns/><post_nominals>Assistant Director</post_nominals><title-1/><title-2/><title-3/><title-4/><department/><type>Assistant,Director</type><program_and_service>Assessment</program_and_service><email/><phone/><image><img src="https://studentaffairs.unt.edu/high-school-career-connect/_files/high-school-career-connect/formal_3.jpg" alt="A man with white skin, dark hair, and a beard is wearing a suit and smiling at the camera."/></image><office/><address/><office-hours/><types><type>Assistant</type><type>Director</type></types><departments/><programs-and-services><program-and-service>Assessment</program-and-service></programs-and-services><main-content>
    
    Born and raised in Denton, Texas, I’m a product of a family and community that emphasizes the arts, education, and service. I am proud of that, and I have tried to carry these elements with me in my life’s work. After I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with my BFA and teaching certificate, I joined the United States Peace Corps where I served as a teacher trainer in the Pacific Island country of Kiribati and a mentoring center director in the West Africa country of Mauritania.

I returned to get my master’s degree in Innovation Studies through the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas. Through my graduate research, I partnered with the education non-profit Big Thought in Dallas, and after earning my MA, I joined the Big Thought team. Five years later I was offered an opportunity to serve my Alma Mater, and hometown, when I joined the staff at the University of North Texas. I first joined UNT as a Community and Serving Learning Coordinator, and now as Assistant Director at UNT’s , bringing me back home to Denton with my wife Chelsey and daughter Amelia.

Education: A BFA from University of Texas at Austin, and a MA from University of North Texas
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