Meet the Staff
Graduate Student Services
Assistant Director, Graduate Student Services
Gary Oliver (Tampa campus)
Email | Phone: (813) 974-7935
Gary D. Oliver joined the Office of Graduate Studies staff in 2012 as the Assistant
Director for Graduate Student Services. He received his BA degree from Savannah State
University in 1992, M.Ed. and Ed.S degrees from Georgia Southern University in 2008
and 2012 respectively. He has over 15 years of experience in higher education and
student affairs. He most recently served as the Director for Student Life at Savannah
State University.
He is responsible for developing, organizing and delivering programs to enhance and support Office of Graduate Studies initiatives that foster graduate student success and career development. Gary oversees orientation, commencements, workshops, Graduate Student Appreciation Week, and other activities such as community service projects, and social and cultural events for graduate students.
Graduate Recruiter and Advisor
Marketa Whitehead (St. Petersburg campus)
Email | Phone: (727) 873-4770
Marketa is the graduate recruiter for the Psychological Sciences, Conservation Biology, Digital Journalism, Florida Studies, and Graduate Certificates programs at the USF Saint Petersburg campus. She has more than 12 years of successful experience in recruitment and college counseling/advising. She is responsible for assisting prospective students in understanding the graduate admission and application process, degree requirements and potential career opportunities. Marketa is a St. Petersburg native. She earned her B.S. in Business Administration (with a major in Marketing and a minor in Information Systems Management) from USF in 2007. She earned her M.A. in Education, with a concentration in Career and Technical Education, from USF in 2015. Marketa is a current USF doctoral student in the College of Education.
Graduate Academic Advisor & Graduate Admissions Specialist
Aaron Reecher (Sarasota-Manatee campus)
Email | Phone: (941) 359-4333
Aaron Reecher is the Graduate Academic Advisor and Graduate Admissions Specialist
at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. He provides academic advising and application
support for all USF Sarasota-Manatee campus graduate students and applicants. Aaron
has been at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus for 13 years and has worked with hundreds
of amazing students in that time. His office is located in the Office of Student Services
on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. Aaron earned his BA from the University of Florida
and MA in Education from USF Sarasota-Manatee. He looks forward to helping our USF
students in any way possible.
Graduate Student Services Coordinator
Nadege Nau (Tampa campus)
Email
As the Graduate Student Services (GSS) Coordinator, Nadege aids the Assistant Director
of GSS with event planning and preparation. Capturing USF’s brand, she also designs
eye-catching marketing items on behalf of OGS and helps facilitate Graduate and Professional
Student Council (GPSC) initiatives. She is also an MA Scholar training within the
Department of Anthropology at USF. There, she also serves as a teaching assistant,
which involves organizing class materials, leading and facilitating classroom discussions,
and advising students on how to successfully complete the course. Tampa is her new
home, but she is a proud Brooklynite—born and raised—and on occasion, she may over-indulge
in baked goods.