Faculty and staff supporting UF Online students honored among university’s best

Here’s a look at the award winners recognized for their contributions during the 2025-2026 academic year:

Undergraduate Teacher of the Year* (university-wide award)

• Brian Avery, College of Health and Human Performance
• Dr. Melissa Soto, College of Education  

*This marks the first time since 2007-08 that the Undergraduate Teacher of the Year honor was awarded to two professors in the same year.  

Undergraduate Professional Advisor Award (college-level awards)

• Keith Collins, College of Design, Construction and Planning  
• Ally Fleischer, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences  
• Ken Foote, College of Nursing

Staff Career Influencer Award (university-wide award)  

• Justin Marlin, College of the Arts  
   

These honors reflect the dedication of faculty and staff across UF who create meaningful learning experiences, provide guidance and mentorship, and help students succeed—regardless of how they pursue their degree.   
 
Here’s a look at each of the award winners and how they work to enhance the experience for students at UF Online.  
 

Undergraduate Teacher of the Year: Brian Avery

With more than three decades in the events, venues, and attractions industry, Brian Avery specializes in risk and safety management, event design, attraction operations, and education. He teaches UF Online students Sport Operations and Facility Management and Risk Management in Live Entertainment and Sports.

“I am a very honest, very real person in the classroom,” he said. “My teaching style is fairly dynamic. I’m always challenging students. I do not let them off the hook. It is a very uncomfortable proposition for most at first, but they acclimate to my style. I could take a slide and speak 50 minutes on the subject matter and not skip a beat and bring it to life.” 

Avery’s career began as a midway operator at a boardwalk and baseball amusement park. He went on to manage restaurants at Universal Studios in Orlando, work as a SeaWorld and Discovery Cove safety specialist, and contribute to post-Katrina tradeshow recovery efforts in New Orleans. He incorporates those experiences directly into his teaching.

“Nothing is off limits with me,” Avery said. “I’ve made mistakes and learned from them. I probably failed 80 percent of the time that I’ve put myself out there, and yet it’s a never give up kind of thing.”

Avery engages UF Online students through open discussions on risk and facility management and offers multiple ways to connect, including text, video chat, and virtual office hours.

“Risk and legal issues can be intimidating,” Avery said. “Most people don’t like to face hazards all around us, but I try to build students up step by step so they can solve for them. In the end, you can see—yeah, you get it. You did a great job.”

Undergraduate Teacher of the Year: Melissa Soto

There were times when Dr. Melissa Soto would have to sit down and rest in the middle of class. But even during treatment for ovarian cancer, she continued to teach mathematics to UF students both in person and through UF Online.

“One morning a student told me, ‘Dr. Soto, you’re an inspiration…You get up, you come to class, you come to class excited, you come to class eager to share with us. You have no idea how much that means to us.’ And, I was just like, OK—this is worth it,” Soto said.

Before Soto can teach mathematics education, she first has to help students overcome fear.

“I teach teachers how to teach math,” she said. “And many of my students come in with trauma or fear of mathematics. They think they’re not good at math and worry they’ll have to teach it in their careers. One of my main goals is to change their perception of what math is and what it can look like in the classroom.”

Soto has taught UF Online students Mathematics Content and Methods for Teaching Mathematics in Inclusive Elementary Classrooms, and uses innovative methods to help her students build confidence. She shares videos of young children learning math to help her future math teachers get excited about the kids they’ll one day be working with. She emphasizes curiosity and asking good questions to help reduce anxiety in her classroom.

“I try to understand where they’re coming from and what their experiences have been,” Soto said. “And then I try to flip that and say, ‘What you experienced in school wasn’t really math.’ I try to stay positive and excited, because that energy transfers to students.”

DCP Undergraduate Professional Advisor Award: Keith Collins

Keith Collins began his advising career at a community college, where a mentor gave him a timeless piece of advice: focus on the student in front of you.

“Administrations come and go, but students are always going to be the same,” Collins recalled. “Twenty-four years later, I still focus on the student in front of me. Generations change, but students’ requests are always the same. My role is to anticipate the questions they’re not asking when they reach out for help. Because they don’t know what’s available, or even if they’re on the right path to begin with.”

Collins’ students are in UF Online’s Emergency Services program, which offers a specialization in Fire Management. He advises many full-time firefighters working 24- or 48-hour shifts and often keeps their phone numbers on his personal phone, receiving texts at all hours, including late at night or while grocery shopping.

“My average student is a 33-year-old firefighter who’s been working for 10 years, and is looking to rank up and promote,” he said. “They have families, mortgages, multiple jobs, and demanding responsibilities. They know our degree is designed for their advancement. So, I make sure I’m available when they need help and let them know I’m here to help, when they are ready.”

It’s all part of focusing on the student in front of him, which earned Collins the advising award from the College of Design, Construction and Planning. “I cherish the award. In a way, it’s validation of what I’ve done my entire career,” he said. “I’ve been an advisor for almost 25 years now and always put the students first. To be recognized for that is humbling.”

CALS Professional Advisor of the Year Award: Ally Fleischer

Entomology and nematology are biological sciences that focus on the study of insects, mites, ticks, spiders, nematodes and related organisms. The students who study it, Fleischer has found, are driven, motivated—and occasionally full of surprises.

“Nothing is cooler than when I’m meeting with an online student, and they say, ‘Let me show you this millipede I have!’” Fleischer said with a laugh. All in a day’s work for the professional advisor of the year in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

“I don’t think a lot of people wake up one day and decide they want to go into academic advising,” Fleischer said. “It’s a little bit of a found path, in the same way entomology is. But it’s a very validating experience to know, OK, I’m on the right track, and I’m doing something that means something, not only to myself, but to the students I work with.”

Many UF Online students balance full-time job or military service, requiring a different advising approach.

“They’re really fitting their coursework around their life instead of their life around their coursework,” Fleischer said. “So, it requires recognizing that, while school is a priority, it’s not their only or their top priority. You have to make sure they feel supported in navigating that.  Are these classes going to work together well with a full-time job and a family? Understanding the student as a whole person is the approach I bring to the online space.”

In every case, Fleischer wants her students to feel heard, and comfortable asking questions about more than just their classes. “College is a lot about exploring, and there are a lot of questions that come with that,” she said. “So, I just want to make sure they have the time, opportunity and resources to truly explore and find their way.”

College of Nursing Professional Advisor of the Year: Kenneth Foote

Ken Foote has worked for the UF College of Nursing for 26 years and believes his success in advising students comes down to honest, direct communication.

“I just try to be honest with students,” he said. “I think that’s the big thing—just being honest, being direct, reasonably so. I think one thing students have appreciated in my time as an academic advisor is the fact that I tell them what they need to hear. It may not be easy, it may not always be great, but I’m going to help them navigate whatever situation they might have to get through. More than anything, what’s helped me survive in this for as long as I have is just being honest with people. It’s difficult sometimes, but ultimately people respect you for it.”

Foote, the College of Nursing Professional Advisor of the Year, is an academic advisor for pre-nursing and prospective students in the BSN program. Some of his students later enroll in Bachelor of Science in Nursing program available at UF Online.

“Online is definitely a little different,” he said. “Sometimes online students need a little more guidance navigating certain things. But I don’t approach them any differently—I want to be just as respectful to their time and energy and needs as any other student.”

While Foote appreciates the acknowledgment, he believes he’s but one part of a larger team at the College of Nursing dedicated to student success. “I’m surrounded by a lot of great people who are also committed to helping students,” he said. “So, while it’s definitely nice, it’s not just a me thing. There are a lot of people who put time and energy into making the college as good as it is.”

Career Influencer Award: Justin Marlin 

The Digital Worlds Institute blends digital arts, sciences and technology, preparing students in game design, animation, and creative industries. As associate director for student affairs and administration, Marlin sits at the center of its academic operations and student success initiatives.

“I act as a bridge between the classroom and the industry,” he said, “ensuring students can translate their work and co-curricular experiences into professional narratives that resonate with employers.”

Marlin emphasizes that UF Online students in the Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts and Sciences should have the same access to networking and career experiences as on-campus peers. He supports initiatives including study abroad programs, career treks, and industry events and works to ensure online students have access to the opportunities.

Marlin received the Staff Career Influencer Award from the UF Career Connections Center during the annual Faculty and Staff Career Symposium. “Beyond the personal excitement, it’s just so cool to see the UF Career Connections Center recognize the work we do. It shows that UF really cares about making sure every student, no matter what they’re studying, is ready to jump into a meaningful career the second they graduate.”

Marlin views the student lifecycle from an administrative level, with an eye toward building real-world environments that set students up for success at the next level. The fulfillment comes in watching it all unfold. “I love seeing the journey start at that first prospective student tour with a student and their parents and then watching that student completely transform over their four years here,” Marlin said. “The best part is when those students become alumni, land these incredible jobs, and then choose to come back to the Institute to give back and share their experiences with the next class.”