Standard Bearer: John Spankowski

April 13, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

“No childhood experience left a more positive impression on me than my time in primary and secondary music classes. Music touches people in ways that no other subject does. It exercises our aesthetic being and explores inexpressible human emotions.” ~ John Spankowski

Graduate Honorable Mention: Jer Xiong

April 13, 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

“For someone like me to be here, there was a lot of luck involved, my own hard work and persistence, timely opportunities, but most of all, the support from family and community. Their care and acknowledgement drive me.” ~Jer Xiong

Graduate Honorable Mention: Victoria Cisneros

April 13, 2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

“[M]y plans for the future include pursuing a career in marketing that is guided by a critical perspective and humanistic values.” ~ Victoria Cisneros

Student of Distinction: Jeffrey LaRose

April 9, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

“I aim to… inspire my students to achieve their impossible, and embrace the opportunities to mentor new teachers who are beginning their journey.” ~ Jeffrey Larose

Student of Distinction: Raquel Romero

April 8, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

“As a graduate student I realized that I wanted to explore how immigration is represented in Mexican literature and for my thesis project I presented an analysis that focuses on the relationship between migration and identity.” ~ Raquel Romero

Student of Distinction: Meesha Ghedia

April 8, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

“I faced many different obstacles. One of the biggest ones was culture shock and getting used to a new country.” ~ Meesha Ghedia

Student of Distinction: Noor Sabharwal

April 7, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

“To ensure I succeeded in my academics and professional career, I went all-in with my schooling and community work and made the most of my fluency in four languages: English, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu.” ~ Noor Sabharwal

Student of Distinction: Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako

April 7, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

“After just one day of volunteering in a dual language classroom at [an] elementary school, an interest in teaching that up until then had been latent, suddenly woke up and exclaimed, ‘rise and shine!'” ~ Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako

Student of Distinction: Dymond Lowe

April 7, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

“I will first apply this degree as the foundation for seeking a master’s degree in speech language pathology where I will assist individuals who have undergone traumatic speech hindering experiences.” ~ Dymond Lowe

Student of Distinction: Claudia Amador

April 6, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

“I’ve made a future goal to inspire and encourage each of my students to engage, learn, and enjoy the education that they will be receiving in my classroom.” ~ Claudia Amador