Faculty

Jennifer Chiappetta | General Education/Academics, Realtime Reporting

BS—Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL
MS—Walden University, Minneapolis, MN

Jennifer Chiappetta holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Literacy and Reading. She taught first through third grades for eight years before staying home with her children full time. She enjoys teaching adults, as well, and has been teaching in the online program at Prince Institute since 2010. Currently in the process of obtaining her COI and CRI with Prince, Jennifer enjoys scrapbooking and reading in her spare time.

Gilbert L. Claborn | General Education/Academics, Realtime Reporting

BA—University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
MA—University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL

Gil Claborn has been an adjunct online instructor at Prince Institute for more than three years. Before joining Prince Institute, his career was in sales and marketing at Stenograph, L.L.C.

Prior to joining Stenograph and while in sales and marketing for a textbook publishing company, he earned his Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in teaching English and foreign languages from the University of Alabama Birmingham. His Bachelor’s Degree with a major in English was earned a few years earlier at the University of Louisville where he minored in German. In October, 2009, he earned the CRI designation from NCRA.

Gil currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife. After growing up in North Carolina and Alabama, he spent four years in the United States Air Force, serving most of that time in Germany. Following that, he lived in Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, Florida, and Alabama, in that order. While living in those states, he attended Western Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, the University of Florida, and the University of Alabama in Birmingham. While in Illinois, he became a member of Mensa.

Kevin T. Culpepper | General Education/Academics

BA—Southeastern University, Lakeland, FL
BS—Southwestern University, Waxahachie, TX
MS—Troy University, Montgomery, AL
EdS—Liberty University, online

Kevin Culpepper's teaching career began in Memphis, Tennessee where he taught U.S. History, U.S. Government, and World History at the secondary level. In the Montgomery Public School system (Montgomery, Alabama), he has been teaching at the secondary level since 1998 in a variety of subjects, including U.S. History, Computer Applications, Interactive Multimedia and Web Design, as well as Television Broadcast Media. He has worked with Prince Institute since 2006 and has taught Intro to Microcomputers, English, and Keyboarding online as an adjunct instructor.

Kevin is currently working toward a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership/Supervision at Liberty University.

Jenny Dunn | Realtime Reporting

Certificate—Prince Institute of Professional Studies, Montgomery, AL

Jenny Dunn was a student in the first class at Prince Institute in 1976. She started her career in reporting for Richard Wilson & Associates in 1978 and worked for him for four years. In 1982, she formed a partnership with three women and opened the reporting firm of Dunn, King, Kilpatrick & Livingston. The firm eventually changed its name to Dunn, King & Associates after two partners retired. Jenny became sole proprietor in 1995 and continued reporting and managing the firm of reporters until 2001, when she sold the business to Pat Higgins, who is still with the firm. She then began to caption for Vitac—first as an independent contractor and then in 2002 as a full-time employee until May, 2011. While captioning for Vitac, she was able to work at home and homeschool her children. In June, 2011, she became an instructor at Prince—where she started 35 years before!

Jenny has held prior certifications as a Registered Professional Reporter, Certificate of Merit holder, Registered Diplomate Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter, and Certified Broadcast Captioner.

She was privileged to serve on the board of the Alabama Court Reporters Association as director, treasurer, vice-president, president-elect, and eventually president from 1989 to 1990. She was also editor of their newsletter for several years.

Laura Durden | Realtime Reporting

Certificate—Prince Institute of Professional Studies, Montgomery, AL

After graduating from Prince Institute in February 1994, Laura Durden was a freelance realtime reporter providing services in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi for seven years. In 2001, she began providing CART services to students at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and also coordinated services for the University of Montevallo in Alabama. Her career has come full circle with her return to Prince Institute as an instructor—giving back to the school that launched her career and helping others prepare for an honorable lifetime career.

Patricia L. Hill | General Education/Academics, Realtime Reporting

BS—Mississippi University for Women, Columbus, MS

Patricia Hill began teaching at Prince Institute in 1984. After graduating from Mississippi University for Women in 1963 with a double major in Business Administration and Business Education, she passed the National Teacher Examination and taught high school in Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama. Prior to moving into post-secondary education, Patricia took graduate courses in adult education at Florida Technological University and the University of Southern Mississippi. She began her tenure in adult education in 1977 at Massey Draughon Business College in Montgomery, Alabama and in December of 1999 she purchased Prince Institute from Mrs. Sara Prince. In October 2005 Stenograph, LLC purchased the Institute and Patricia remains as the Director to date.

Education has not been Patricia's only profession. In 1974 she became a floral designer and owned Patricia's Florist in Pelham, Alabama. She was president/owner of Capital City Welding Supply in Prattville, Alabama, from 1991–1998. She, her husband, and their two sons grew the welding supply company to serve the “River Region” and sold it in 1998 to a national welding supply company.

Patricia Hill is a member of the National Court Reporters Association and the Alabama Court Reporters Association. She has been a chief examiner for both the national and state certification exams since 1999. Although she stays quite busy with the day-to-day operations at Prince Institute—Southeast, Patricia continues to teach courses and assist in the speedbuilding courses.

Gwen Koda | Realtime Reporting, Scoping/Proofreading

Certificate—Prince Institute of Professional Studies, Montgomery, AL

Gwen Koda joined Prince Institute—Southeast as an instructor in 2008 and received her CRI certificate in 2010. She teaches courses in transcription, theory, and scoping. Prior to this, Gwen graduated as a scopist from Prince Institute and in 2003 began working for Reagan Reporters as a scopist/proofreader where she is still currently employed. In recent years, she had the opportunity to attend several seminars on CaseCATalyst that were given by Stenograph.

In addition, Gwen’s professional experience includes working for the Illinois State School for the Mentally Handicapped as a stenographer—taking minutes of staff and admissions board meetings in shorthand. She also worked as an accountant and legal secretary for various companies and served as the manager of her husband’s karate organization which encompassed more than 50 schools throughout the country.

Gwen is happy to share her belief that being an instructor at Prince Institute has been by far the most rewarding and challenging career of her life. “I can honestly say that Prince Institute has been the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Melissa S. Lee | Realtime Reporting

Associate Degree—Prince Institute of Professional Studies, Montgomery, AL

Melissa Lee is a former Prince Institute Merit Program graduate, having graduated in September of 1998. While still a student reporter at Prince Institute, Melissa began her realtime reporting career as a CART provider for a deaf student attending Auburn University at Montgomery. Upon her program completion, she began working as a judicial reporter in both the freelance and official arena. Melissa is proud to boast that she has worked with the same freelance court reporting firm since 1999, and began teaching at Prince Institute in June of 2010. She is a Certified Court Reporter and member of the Alabama Court Reporters Association.

Glendine Lipford | Realtime Reporting

Associate of Applied Science—Institute of Dallas, Dallas, TX
BS—Howard Payne University, Brownwood, TX

Glendine Lipford is a current Texas Certified Shorthand Reporter and a Certified Reporting Instructor with NCRA. She graduated from the Court Reporting Institute of Dallas with an Associate of Applied Science degree and after graduation, she worked for a freelance court reporting firm in Dallas. Glendine was offered a teaching position at CRID and has been teaching since 1985. She enjoys teaching online and joined Prince Institute as an online instructor in the fall of 2010. Glendine has a Bachelor's Degree in Christian Education and approximately 20 hours toward her master's degree.

Ruth Padgett | General Education/Academics, Office Assistant, Professional Transcription

BS—University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
MS—Troy University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL

Ruth Padgett received her Bachelor's in Nursing from the University of Vermont, has travelled extensively with her AF husband, received her Master's in Adult Education from Troy University—Maxwell, and is now settled in Montgomery, Alabama. She has been a DETA trainer for the last 10 years, has been an administrator in assisted living with dementia care, has served nationally as a dementia care specialist, has provided training for the Assisted Living Association of Alabama and Direct Caregivers, and provides consulting and education services through her own consulting company. Ruth is certified as a Dementia Care Professional through the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and is a certified Parish Nurse.

She has been an adjunct instructor at Prince Institute since 1999, teaching medical transcription, medical language, various dictation and academic courses, as well as Theory 1, the introduction to machine stenography. As an adult education professional, certified facilitator, and experienced instructor (and the unofficial school nurse), Ruth is committed to excellence in education and to the ultimate success of her students.

Joan M. Roberts | Realtime Reporting

Certificate—Prince Institute of Professional Studies, Montgomery, AL

Joan Roberts graduated from Prince Institute in June 1991—Mr. and Mrs. Prince were both instructors at the school when she attended. Pat Hill and Ann Schmidt were two of her English teachers and Eddie Reid was her technology teacher. She began freelance reporting immediately after graduating and during a 15-year period has worked for Jeana Boggs Reporting; Reagan, Pruitt, & Clark; Regan Reporters; and for herself.

Joan began her teaching career at Prince Institute during the spring quarter of 2010. She started teaching online Speedbuilding in June 2010 and Theory Transition in September 2010. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Prince Institute, she is the operations manager for TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group, where she keeps a close eye on efficiency, inter-departmental communications, and implementing procedures for better operations of the company.

Ann C. Schmidt | General Education/Academics, Realtime Reporting

BA—University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
MS—Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Ann Schmidt, who has been employed with Prince Institute since 1986, received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and her Master's Degree in Counseling from Iowa State University. A member of the National Court Reporters Association, she maintains Certified Reporting Instructor status and was the Grand Champion of the First Annual NCRA Trivia, Spelling, and Vocabulary Challenge. She was also a program specialist evaluator for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

Currently Dean of Academic Affairs, Ann has served in a number of capacities at Prince Institute, including Branch Director and Assistant Director. She has been a classroom instructor throughout her employment and has taught medical courses such as anatomy and medical terminology, speedbuilding and transcription courses, and—her favorite—English courses.

Candace H. Shepherd | Realtime Reporting

Certificate—Prince Institute of Professional Studies, Montgomery, AL

Candace Shepherd graduated from Prince Institute of Professional Studies in February 1987. She has worked as a freelance court reporter in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana and has taught court reporting at Shirley Baker Career Institute in Houston, Texas and Franklin College of Court Reporting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Candace has been a member of the Texas Court Reporters Association and the Louisiana Court Reporters Association and became a Certified Court Reporter in Louisiana in 1996.

In 2000, Candace started teaching court reporting at Prince Institute and in 2003 earned the Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI) designation from NCRA. She was named one of the Leading 20 Under 40 by The Montgomery Advertiser in November 2004 and in October 2005, Candace became the Assistant Director of Prince Institute.

She attended NCRA Legislative Boot Camp in 2003, 2004, and 2006 and earned Certified Program Evaluator (CPE) from NCRA in April 2006. Candace spearheaded the grassroots campaign in Alabama for the Training for Realtime Writers Act and is an active member of ACRA and NCRA and has served on different committees in both associations. Presently, Candace holds the office of Secretary for ACRA and is a member of the Certification Committee and the Student Mentoring Committee. She is also a member of the School Owners and Administrators Committee of NCRA and is the former Editor of For the Record for ACRA.

Candace was the Coordinator for two Veterans History Project days at Prince Institute in 2007 and sat on the Veterans History Project panel at the 2009 NCRA Annual Convention & Exposition. She is a member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and participated in the NXLevel Entrepreneurial Training Program in 2011.

Helen P. Shirley | General Education/Academics, Office Assistant, Professional Transcription

BS—Troy University, Montgomery, AL

Helen Shirley joined Prince Institute in January 2011. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business with a minor in English from Troy University. Working in education for over 15 years, Helen's experience includes teaching both adults and children. Her primary teaching responsibility at Prince Institute is in the Office Assistant Program, however she teaches in the Judicial Reporting and CART/Captioning Programs as well.

Greer A. Staples | General Education/Academics, Realtime Reporting, Office Assistant, Professional Transcription

BS—University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
MBA—University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ

In 2007, Greer Staples became an adjunct instructor at Prince Institute. Subsequently, she joined the school full-time as Online Coordinator, faculty member, and department head for the Office Assistant program. Her background and experience include 25 years in human resources in all industries for both public and private sectors. Four years ago she made a career change and continues to culminate her growth and experience in the academic sector. Greer’s undergraduate and graduate degrees are in Business Administration. Because of her desire to be a life-long learner, she is currently on a journey of earning a Doctorate in Management of Organizational Leadership through the University of Phoenix.

Administration

Patricia L. Hill | Director

Patricia Hill began teaching at Prince Institute in 1984. After graduating from Mississippi University for Women in 1963 with a double major in Business Administration and Business Education, she passed the National Teacher Examination and taught high school in Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama. Prior to moving into post-secondary education, Patricia took graduate courses in adult education at Florida Technological University and the University of Southern Mississippi. She began her tenure in adult education in 1977 at Massey Draughon Business College in Montgomery, Alabama and in December of 1999 she purchased Prince Institute from Mrs. Sara Prince. In October 2005 Stenograph, LLC purchased the Institute and Patricia remains as the Director to date.

Education has not been Patricia's only profession. In 1974 she became a floral designer and owned Patricia's Florist in Pelham, Alabama. She was president/owner of Capital City Welding Supply in Prattville, Alabama, from 1991–1998. She, her husband, and their two sons grew the welding supply company to serve the “River Region” and sold it in 1998 to a national welding supply company.

Patricia Hill is a member of the National Court Reporters Association and the Alabama Court Reporters Association. She has been a chief examiner for both the national and state certification exams since 1999. Although she stays quite busy with the day-to-day operations at Prince Institute—Southeast, Patricia continues to teach courses and assist in the speedbuilding courses.

Sherry Hill | Admissions Representative

Sherry Hill first came on board at Prince Institute in 2001 as a teacher’s aide/class monitor when the Southeast campus offered on-campus night classes. She then enrolled at Prince Institute as a student and graduated in 2004. Sherry came back to Prince Institute and filled the position of Administrative Assistant at the front desk and started working in the admissions/marketing departments as well. In 2005, she became head of the Admissions and Marketing departments and has been focused on recruiting Prince graduates ever since.

Reginald James | Financial Aid Administrator

Reginald James has been with Prince Institute of Professional Studies in the financial aid office since 2006 and has been working with collegiate institutions in the financial aid area since 2002. He was a double major graduate from Jacksonville State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and General Biology.

Rochelle Matlock | Secretary

Rochelle Matlock began working at Prince Institute—Southeast in 2010. After graduating from high school, she attended Kinsman Skill Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where she served as Vice President of Student Government and received a certificate in Office Procedures. Later, Rochelle attended Southern Vocational College in Tuskegee, Alabama, where she worked as a student in the Registrar’s office and received a certificate in Computer Operation. Rochelle worked for the State of Alabama within various agencies, in various positions—Clerk Typist II, Administrative Assistant II, Office Manager, and Personnel Assistant II—through 2009. She is currently attending college at Troy University in Montgomery, Alabama, pursuing an Associate Degree in the field of Criminal Justice.

Rosie L. McGhee | Receptionist

Rosie McGhee joined Prince Institute—Southeast as a Receptionist in October of 2011. She graduated with honors from the Office Assistant Program (OAC) at Prince Institute—Southeast and is currently attending Grantham University in Kansas City, Missouri where she is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management. Along with receiving her Administrative Certification from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Rosie has pursued Paralegal Studies at South College in Montgomery, Alabama. She is an accomplished Administrative and Customer Service Professional with over 20 years of experience.

Beginning her career in the U.S. Army as an Administrative and Human Resource Specialist, Rosie was later employed by several well-known companies in Montgomery and was recognized multiple times as employee of the month. A Veteran of the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Persian Gulf wars, Rosie serves as a member of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and volunteers at Dalraida Elementary School in Montgomery.

Ann C. Schmidt | Dean of Academic Affairs

Ann Schmidt, who has been employed with Prince Institute since 1986, received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and her Master's Degree in Counseling from Iowa State University. A member of the National Court Reporters Association, she maintains Certified Reporting Instructor status and was the Grand Champion of the First Annual NCRA Trivia, Spelling, and Vocabulary Challenge. She was also a program specialist evaluator for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

Currently Dean of Academic Affairs, Ann has served in a number of capacities at Prince Institute, including Branch Director and Assistant Director. She has been a classroom instructor throughout her employment and has taught medical courses such as anatomy and medical terminology, speedbuilding and transcription courses, and—her favorite—English courses.

Candace H. Shepherd | Assistant Director, Online Coordinator

Candace Shepherd graduated from Prince Institute of Professional Studies in February 1987. She has worked as a freelance court reporter in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana and has taught court reporting at Shirley Baker Career Institute in Houston, Texas and Franklin College of Court Reporting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Candace has been a member of the Texas Court Reporters Association and the Louisiana Court Reporters Association and became a Certified Court Reporter in Louisiana in 1996.

In 2000, Candace started teaching court reporting at Prince Institute and in 2003 earned the Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI) designation from NCRA. She was named one of the Leading 20 Under 40 by The Montgomery Advertiser in November 2004 and in October 2005, Candace became the Assistant Director of Prince Institute.

She attended NCRA Legislative Boot Camp in 2003, 2004, and 2006 and earned Certified Program Evaluator (CPE) from NCRA in April 2006. Candace spearheaded the grassroots campaign in Alabama for the Training for Realtime Writers Act and is an active member of ACRA and NCRA and has served on different committees in both associations. Presently, Candace holds the office of Secretary for ACRA and is a member of the Certification Committee and the Student Mentoring Committee. She is also a member of the School Owners and Administrators Committee of NCRA and is the former Editor of For the Record for ACRA.

Candace was the Coordinator for two Veterans History Project days at Prince Institute in 2007 and sat on the Veterans History Project panel at the 2009 NCRA Annual Convention & Exposition. She is a member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and participated in the NXLevel Entrepreneurial Training Program in 2011.

Claudia Smith | Office Manager

Claudia Smith is the Office Manager at Prince Institute of Professional Studies—Southeast in Montgomery, Alabama. She has been employed by Prince since 2009—this is her second employment term with Prince—her first term was in 2006 and 2007. Prior to coming to Prince, Claudia was employed by HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Montgomery, Alabama for sixteen years. She has over twenty-three years of Administrative and clerical experience.

Claudia holds a certificate in Office Administration from Montgomery Area Skills Center, Tuskegee, Alabama. She attended and maintained honor status at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Institute, Alabama from 1979 to 1981, majoring in Business Administration. She graduated with honors from Deborah Cannon Wolfe High School in Shorter, Alabama.

Rachael Strickland | Admissions Representative

Rachael Strickland Prince Institute Prince Southeast Admissions Representative

Rachael Strickland started at Prince Institute in January of 2007 as a judicial reporting student and recently joined Prince Southeast as an Admissions Representative. She has also served as a student volunteer at several ACRA conferences and Prince Institute career days since 2007. Rachael obtained an entrepreneur certificate from the Small Business Incubator in Montgomery in 2005. She is originally from Amelia Island, Florida and was raised in Montgomery, Alabama.

Alumni

Alana R. Blackledge, CSR | Court Reporter

Alana Blackledge is employed by Lamar County, Mississippi as an Official Court Reporter for County and Youth Court. After finishing school in October of 2007, she received her CSR the following month and sent her resume to seven different court reporting firms throughout Mississippi and to the Judge for whom she now works. Four of the eight jobs were offered to her. She accepted the official ship because of her love for the courtroom and was sworn in on January 2, 2008. Her first court day was on January 7, 2008.

A typical week for Alana consists of Youth Court on Tuesday and detention hearings 48 hours after a juvenile has been picked up for an offense any day of the week. The court term for County Court, which is a smaller Circuit Court, runs every other month. There is a docket call on the second Monday of such month with a jury week to follow and then a civil week. Alana also takes down Circuit Court Arraignments for her county’s part of the district.

Her experience includes criminal and civil trials, commitments, juvenile trials and hearings, Department of Human Services matters, Justice Court appeals, and Circuit Court arraignments.

“Court Reporting school is hard, YES! But it is so rewarding in the end. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Set yourself goals and time limits and do everything you can to achieve them, and you will succeed. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!”

Angela Sargent, CSR | CCR Official Court Reporter

Angela (Angie) Sargent is an official court reporter for the 16th Judicial District which covers Haskell, Latimer, and LeFlore Counties (Oklahoma). Angie obtained this position in July of 2007. As an official court reporter, she covers various hearings and trials for Judges Williams, Knight, Mixon, and Sullivan. Before coming to work in Oklahoma, Angie was a freelance reporter in Alabama for Esquire Deposition Services, one of the largest court reporting firms in the United States. She traveled statewide and to the surrounding states to cover public meetings, depositions, hearings, and trials. Angie also served in the court system as a per diem court reporter.

Angie received her Associate Degree in Court Reporting from Prince Institute of Professional Studies in 2005. While attending Prince, she served on the schoolʼs Student Advisory Board. As a student, Angie provided CART services for Jones School of Law, Faulkner University, and Southern Christian University. Adding to her CART experience, Angie also reported financial meetings and church services for two local congregations.

Angie is very happy to have returned home to Oklahoma and is honored to serve on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Court Reporters Association. She remains a member in good standing of the Alabama Court Reporters Association.

Programs offered at
Southeast campus:

Campus News:

Faculty

Administration

Alumni

©2012 Prince Institute

Programs offered at Southeast campus:

Campus News:

Faculty

Administration

Alumni

©2012 Prince Institute

Programs offered at
Southeast campus: