John “Reese” Alexander has a strong passion for education.

Reese Alexander

Alexander, recruiting coordinator for the University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development, works out of the university’s new UHV Katy Campus.

“It’s exciting,” Alexander said. “We are in our new digs, which will allow us to really focus on serving the explosive growth going on throughout the western Houston suburbs. Now that we are all in the same place, I think the university is going to be able to have a real impact.”

The prominent signage on the building makes it obvious that UHV is here, Alexander said.

“I've already had prospective students tell me it was the signage that originally drew them in and started them thinking about their own educational needs and desires,” he said.

Alexander joined UHV in 2011 as a transplant from the Chicago area.

“I came from a background of working in colleges, starting as an undergraduate working first in the library and later in the alumni office doing prospect research,” Alexander said.

An Oklahoma native, Alexander grew up in Philadelphia and went to high school in northern New Jersey. He attended Hampton-Sydney College in Farmsville, Va., and studied political science. He went on to earned a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University. He now lives in Katy with his wife. They are raising two twin girls.

His day-to-day duties as a recruiter and certification analyst always present new challenges.

“Students have a variety of different issues they need help with,” Alexander said. “There is quite a lot of routine work, but I achieve satisfaction in troubleshooting problems students have and helping them stay on track as they complete their degree and certification requirements.”

Alexander also spends a significant amount of time on the road, traveling to different places to recruit graduate students to attend the School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development.

“It is through these recruiting events I get to interact with a variety of people from different backgrounds,” he said. “My goal on these trips is to listen to what people are saying and to help them get to where they want to go with their educational goals. Recruiting them into the program, helping them through and then seeing them off once again at graduation is a perspective that few have, so in many ways, this job is a real privilage.“

Alexander regularly gets to meet with teachers.

“They already are great public servants who believe they have something to offer in a formal leadership capacity, or, perhaps, a talent for working with children who have learning challenges,” he said. “Though our programs, I get to watch them develop those capacities. Then, because I also am a parent and a concerned citizen, I have a further interest in what they go on to accomplish.”

He says he is enthusiastic about the continued plan for UHV’s growth as a destination university.

“It’s exciting that UHV’s reach is not just in Houston,” Alexander said. “In the years to come, UHV will have an ever greater presence not only in the Coastal Bend, but also the Rio Grande Valley and the suburbs of San Antonio. In doing so, UHV is helping Victoria sharpen its image as an important crossroad in Texas.We’re expanding our reach and receiving recognition while we are at it.”

Staff Feature is an online profile highlighting staff members at the University of Houston-Victoria. To nominate a staff member, contact Jeremy Shapiro, UHV communications manager, or call 361-570-4296.