Category: Post

One of the most enjoyable tasks the Office of Student and Academic Affairs performs each year is facilitating a number of scholarship programs that are funded by, or in the memory of, alumni of the College of Education and Human Development and philanthropists committed to student success. While our outstanding student recipients receive funds to help defray the cost of attending Mason, the faculty charged with reviewing applications benefit as well.  They get a glimpse into the inspiring lives of our applicants and the potential future contributions they will make to their fields of study.  During the fall 2017 semester, fourteen students were awarded donor-supported scholarships through the College.

Annette Gorn Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship honors the life and work of Annette Gorn, MEd. ’87, a member of the university academic advising staff for more than a decade.  Annette, an Irish immigrant herself, specialized in counseling international students.  Her memorial award is granted to a deserving student in the Counseling and Development program. Applicants submitted essays detailing how they intend to use their background and experience to influence their counseling style. This year’s recipient is Jean Agosto, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Counseling and Development with a concentration in School Counseling.

Catherine “Cathy” Belter Memorial Fellowship

Cathy Belter was an education activist, author and lecturer who served two terms on the Fairfax County School Board and was also president of the Commonwealth of Virginia PTA.  The fellowship in her name is given to a CEHD student pursuing licensure or a graduate degree who is also currently employed by the Fairfax County Public School system.  The 2017 Catherine Belter Memorial Fellowship was awarded to Lakicia Moye, a MEd. student with a concentration in Early Childhood Special Education.

Strong Scholars Program

The Hattie M. Strong Foundation (HMSF) began in 1928 as a student loan program, which has since become a scholarship program aimed at college students enrolled in teacher training programs. Specifically, HMSF hopes to reduce the financial pressure during the student-teaching semester, when a student’s ability to offset expenses with outside employment is curtailed by the rigor of full-time work in the classroom. The fall 2017 Strong Scholars for Mason are Alexandra Dilldine, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Education concentration; Leah Johnson, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Secondary Education: History and Social Sciences concentration; and Sarah Robertson, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Secondary Education: Mathematics concentration.

Dr. Marjory F. Brown-Azarowicz Endowed Scholarship in Education

Named in honor of former professor emerita in the School of Education, Dr. Marjory Brown-Azarowicz, this scholarship is granted to an outstanding CEHD student pursuing a program of study leading to initial teaching licensure.  Dr. Brown-Azarowicz was an accomplished educator, author, and musician with a profound impact on those she taught.  Application essays focused on the ways in which the applicants likewise intended to have an influence on their future students.  Rebecca Sponga, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Secondary Education: History and Social Sciences concentration, and Christina Dietrich, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Early Childhood Education for Diverse Learners concentration, were selected as the 2017 recipients. 

Today’s Student, Tomorrow’s Teachers Program

Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Teachers (TSTT) is a unique school-based mentoring program that recruits and mentors culturally diverse high school students from underserved communities who are interested in pursuing a career in teaching. TSTT provides financial assistance for students to attend one of twenty-one partner colleges, including Mason, and places them as teachers and leaders who will inspire and strengthen their communities.  TSTT funds were awarded to Bachelor’s/Accelerated Masters in Special Education student, Christina Flores, and MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Secondary Education: Mathematics student, Anthony-Toan Le.

Sakineh “Simin” M. Redjali, PhD and Said Khadiri, PhD Graduate Scholarship

Dr. Simin Redjali and Dr. Said Khadiri were pioneers in the field of Education in Iran. Dr. Redjali was the first woman professor at the National University of Iran, a National Science Foundation Fellow, and Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Said Khadiri was a pioneer in the area of music education in Iran, a Fulbright Scholar, and produced and directed 252 films and video cassettes for the National Iranian Radio-Television of musical performances by children attending the Music Studios for Children and Young Adults. Drs. Redjali and Khadiri advocated for the education of children at an early age and established this scholarship in the hopes of continuing their legacy.  Trinity Edwards, a graduate certificate student in Early Childhood Special Education, is the 2017 recipient.

Wen Pei Wu Scholarship

The Wen Pei Wu Scholarship was founded by D. Jean Wu, M.S. ’87, a trustee and member of the university Board of Vistors, in memory of her father.  Born in China, Wen Pei Wu advocated education for all and encouraged and helped others to learn. The scholarship is awarded to an outstanding graduate or undergraduate student pursuing initial licensure within PK-12 education.  The 2017 recipient of the Wen Pei Wu Scholarships is Mark Pollack. Mark is pursuing a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, Teaching Culturally, Linguistically Diverse and Exceptional Learners concentration, and a graduate certificate in International ESOL Education (PK-12) Licensure.

Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program (VTSLP)

The Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program (VTSLP) provides financial support to students who are preparing to teach in one of Virginia’s critical shortage teaching areas [i.e., Special Education, Elementary Education (Pk-6), Middle Education (Grades 6-8), Career and Technical Education, Health & Physical Education (PK-12), English, Foreign Languages (PreK-12), History and Social Sciences, Mathematics (Grade 6-12, including Algebra I), School Counselor(PreK-12)]. The 2017 Mason VTSLP recipients are:  Asma Sultana, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Early Childhood Education for Diverse Learners concentration and Early Childhood Education (PK-3 Licensure) graduate certificate; Sarah Prigmore, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Education concentration; and Travis Smith, MEd., Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Education concentration.

Congratulations to all scholarship honorees!  They will be formally recognized at the annual University scholarship recognition banquet to be held in spring 2018.

Click HERE for more information about CEHD scholarship programs.

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As the fall semester winds down, we bring you the last weekly digests until the new year. 

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The Ivymount School has immediate January 2018 openings for upcoming graduates to fill full-time Assistant Teacher and ABA Instructor positions.  Please click the flyer below for more information.

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Writing is an intense and vulnerable process that can conjure up feelings from relief to self-doubt, leading one to question: “When will I have time to write this?” “Do I have to share this with someone?” “Will the reader like my ideas?” “Is that sentence perfect enough?”

A few weekends ago I was privileged to witness 30 master’s and doctoral students, currently pursuing degrees in various CEHD programs, publicly commit to achieving short-term writing goals at the CEHD Writer’s Retreat. This was the second time the CEHD Office of Student and Academic Affairs (SAA) hosted a Writer’s Retreat for our graduate students. During this 8-hour retreat, attendees participated in two interactive mini workshops around goal setting and navigating databases and did some extensive writing. The retreat was ideal for students needing accountability, dedicated space, minimized distraction, and assistance from writing consultants to receive feedback on their writing and to help get unstuck.

Writing comes easy for some people, while others struggle to generate written products of high quality. As the saying goes, “the struggle is real.” Although waking up at 6:00am to ensure an arrival on campus by 7:00am and staffing an event until 5:00pm isn’t my ideal way to spend a Saturday, it’s warming, inspiring, and affirming to be in the company of students publicly declaring with their physical and mental presence and words, “I need help.”

Writing is an intense and vulnerable process that can conjure up feelings from relief to self-doubt, leading one to question: “When will I have time to write this?” “Do I have to share this with someone?” “Will the reader like my ideas?” “Is that sentence perfect enough?”

While staffing the Writer’s Retreat check-in, a young lady walked up to the table to find her nametag amongst the sea of nametags and noticed other recognizable names. She expressed with joy, “I’m so happy to see that there are other PhD students who signed up to be here! I thought I was going to be the only one.” In that moment, she reminded me of the courage it took for her and others to fill out the registration form to attend the retreat, to actually show up, and to also sign up to meet with a writing consultant for additional help.

I want you to know that we see you and understand the vulnerability and courage it takes to ask for help, particularly with your writing, from getting started to finding accountability partners and receiving feedback on your product. These recurring thoughts, feelings, and actions are all part of the process of learning, growing, and developing into scholars and professionals.

Here are three tips to reducing writing anxiety:

1. Give yourself permission to be a student. Sometimes we are so focused on presenting ourselves as a scholar who has it all together. Thus, we get stuck on writing the perfect sentence(s), share only what we self-determine as a written “masterpiece” for initial review, and express difficulty in being receptive to any critical feedback. Give yourself permission to spend time in the “lab” being a student: an inquisitive learner and becoming scholar.

2. Accept feedback as a sign of respect. Learning that the masterpiece you’ve written has flaws can crush your spirit. Page after page you see heavy track changes or red ink spewed all over your document. In that moment, you can ignore the feedback, defend your product, or choose to be receptive to the reviewer’s suggestions for improvements. It’s is so easy to write off a reviewer as “out to get you” because they ripped your paper to shreds. However, I would argue that the more feedback you receive the better. It’s not very often that you’ll meet someone who is willing to invest their time, especially if it’s at no charge, in giving you extensive feedback. Critical feedback is necessary to strengthening your scholarship. Find a few good colleagues, mentors, or advisors who are willing to invest in you. Give them your writing projects and let them have at it! You’ll greatly benefit in the end.

3. Keep showing up. We will continue to provide spaces and opportunities, such as the Writer’s Retreat, to aid in your writing process and, more broadly, your scholarly development. We ask that you keep showing up, not just to our retreats but to your own “retreats”. When you’re feeling knocked down, defeated, rejected, incompetent, and/or unmotivated, tap into your inner championand get back up and go back at it one more time. Don’t stop showing up for yourself and the folks who are invested in you!

That’s all for now.

Peace and blessings.

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What I learned when I was a college student, and have continued to promote as a student affairs professional, is that fall/Thanksgiving break may not be the most ideal time to “break, break”.

We are all overdue for a much-needed extended break, and, as luck would have it, fall/Thanksgiving break is headed Mason’s way Wednesday, November 22 – Sunday, November 26!

Although I rarely make it home to Louisiana for major holidays or extended breaks, I’m still nostalgic about eating a slice of my play cousin’s famous sweet potato pie; listening to my favorite auntie spill the latest tea on all of the family, church, and neighborhood happenings; and watching daddy sneak away from all the festivities to take a nap in his favorite reclining chair.

The break is also a time to “kick it” with my childhood friends and high school and college classmates as well as binge watch all of my favorite shows that I’ve been neglecting as a result of late nights and early mornings in the office. And did I mention sleep? Oh yes, lots of sleep!

When I break, I break!

However, what I learned when I was a college student, and have continued to promote as a student affairs professional, is that fall/Thanksgiving break may not be the most ideal time to “break, break”. Think about it. When classes resume on Monday, November 27, there will only be two weeks remaining until the last day of classes (December 9). As such, you can’t afford to take advantage of the break in its entirety. You have to stay in the academic zone! Instructors will be ready to go into overdrive to make it through all the chapters in your textbook, and final exams and papers are on the horizon! There simply isn’t enough time to re-acclimate yourself to the depth of your course material and to the educational space, in general, if you decide to “break, break”. You’ve been laser-focused on your academics for the past 13 weeks and to “come up for air” for an extended period of time could easily throw your game off. How you approach the break can determine whether B’s turn into A’s or C’s.

I recommend you be intentional with organizing a schedule for the break in advance. Carve out some time to spend with your family, friends, and bae. They miss you and are deserving of some uninterrupted time! Also, be sure to dedicate some time to connect with yourself and recharge your internal battery through rest and relaxation. But, don’t neglect Ms. Statistics, Mr. Biology, and English bae! School bae will come back to haunt you during the semester wrap-up and finals!

That’s all for now. Enjoy your fall “break” and Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace and blessings.

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