Levi Smith

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m Levi Smith. I’m a highly motivated individual that is continuously looking to learn new things. I have a lot of patience (with most things), so I’m uniquely well-suited to teaching (see my work experience). I despise needless repetition and will do whatever it takes to get something done right the first time so I don’t have to do it again. I have many hobbies, including reading (both fiction and textbooks), playing video games (when time allows), playing with anything technical, programming (primarily web development), riding my bike, spending time with my friends and family, walking my dog, Archer (AKA Archie - for more on him click the button below), and weight-lifting, among others.

As my educational background will tell you, I graduated from Covington High School in 2007. I spent the last two years of my high school education taking part in the PSEOP program (where students earn high school and college credit simultaneously). I was also on the Student Technology Assistance Team (STAT), which is where I met my mentor, Nadine Zimmer. In the twelve years that followed, our relationship grew, and she ended up having a very profound impact on my life. I went from a severe introvert to an extrovert over these many years. Nadine was extraordinarily extroverted and never knew a stranger. Sadly, she is no longer with us, but her impact on the world carries on. I now sponsor a little girl from Bolivia named Natalia, who shares her birthday (and, by the look of her picture, her personality as well). I now share many of the experiences and life lessons that I learned from Nadine with Natalia.

After high school, I immediately went off to college at Wright State University, where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2011. Throughout my time at Wright State, I continued working at Covington Exempted Village Schools in the Technology Department with Nadine. After graduating, Nadine took on additional responsibility to make room for me to work there full-time. When Nadine retired (the first time), I took her place as the Technology Director and continued to work with her as my subordinate. Fortunately, our relationship was one that allowed us to make this transition with ease. When Nadine retired entirely from the district, I also began working at Edison State Community College as an Adjunct Instructor. I enjoyed teaching so much; I made the difficult decision to leave the district and pursue a full-time career as an educator. Another primary motivator was my desire to pursue additional education (such as a Master’s degree), which wasn’t possible with my weekly workload at the district. This brings me to where I am now.

In my short time at Edison State, I have already accomplished quite a bit. I spent my first year updating the information technology curriculum at the college. This was no easy feat. The changes and proposals that I brought forward were not well received (at first), but with my patience and justifications, everyone ended up coming around to my way of thinking. The next year, I set out on the task of building an entirely new program: Interactive Media. I had discussed this as a possibility during one of my interviews, but never dreamed that I would be putting the idea into practice so quickly. In the end, I managed to get three new degree options approved in Graphic Design, Web Design, and Web Development. Of course, during all of this, I’d been barreling through Master’s courses at Franklin University. Completing a Master’s degree would not have been possible for me in my previous career (as I simply didn’t have the time), but I managed to graduate in August 2020. Now I'm on to working on my Doctorate in Information Technology with an Information Security focus. Wish me luck!