Tori Whitaker

Tori chose to major in Sociology because of her curiosity to learn more about “why” and discover the patterns that exist behind people and their behaviors. Such a curiosity has inspired her to find new ways to support students so they may be as successful throughout their time here at UGA. When asked what she loved most about her job she said, “I like being able to be there for students and find solutions to help them succeed in the classroom. Many of the students we see have barriers with things that some might take for granted, like taking an exam online. It’s exciting to work together with them to find a solution that best supports them and their needs. Each day is different and in turn it helps me be a better professional.” When asked for an example, she said, “We have a student that recently showed us a web browser extension that helps students read questions that are shown in an online exam. Sometimes the platform that tests are in might not be compatible with our assistive technology software, but this new one helps students by allowing them to highlight the question and reading the question out to them. They might not be able to read a question for a variety of reasons, but this software can enable them to hear what the text on the screen says and answer the question accordingly; it’s great!”