Clayton Smith

From teacher to restaurateur, education alumna brings a taste of Vietnam to Windsor-Essex

Giang and her husband and two children in front of the Pho Xic Lo restaurantGiang Nguyen and her family outside their Windsor restaurant, Pho Xic Lo (PROVIDED BY G. NGUYEN/University of Windsor)

By Kate Hargreaves 

Giang Nguyen had never owned a restaurant or even worked in a kitchen when she moved to Canada three years ago with her family. 

A trained teacher with a master's degree in teaching English as a second language from her home country of Vietnam, Nguyen came to Windsor to pursue a master of education at the University of Windsor. 

Three years later, she's earned her degree and traded the classroom for the kitchen, becoming the owner of two Vietnamese restaurants in Windsor-Essex. 

New edited collection explores mentorship in teacher education

Mock-up of book cover for Mentoring to Support Teacher Candidate DevelopmentA new book on mentorship for teacher candidates has recently been released by Springer (mock-up via Canva/UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR

By Kate Hargreaves 

Dr. Clayton Smith, professor in the Faculty of Education, makes sure that his research is always in service of the courses he teaches.  

“I don’t do research that I don’t use in my classes,” he explains.  

With a dearth of material available on mentorship for pre-service teachers, Smith and professor emerita Dr. Geri Salinitri were motivated to co-edit a new collection, Mentoring to Support Teacher Candidate Development, recently published by Springer.