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Master's Scholarships Recipients are improving their workplaces, providing crisis intervention services, serving young offenders, becoming better teachers, and learning leadership skills. Walden University awards Master’s Scholarships each year to applicants who are committed to community service and demonstrate how the degree will enhance their professional development or their effectiveness in their fields. This year, the university named 16 recipients.
College of Education
Recipient: Deborah Thiel
Program: M.S. in Education (Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas)
Title: Instructional Aide, Grades 1–8, Mount Zaagham International School, Tembagapura, West Papua, Indonesia
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “Graduate work with Walden has been rewarding and validating. Not only have personal hypotheses developed throughout my career been supported through multiple-intelligence and learning-style research, but I also learned new strategies to enhance my effectiveness as a teacher. I shared this research with colleagues and students to help them understand that there are multiple ways to be smart and various ways to learn. Designing Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Part 1, enabled me to develop my intuition into purposefully designed lesson plans incorporating new research-based strategies. I developed a learner’s log tool and refined it in the next course, Reading in the Content Areas. The three students with whom I work are using this log for their studies of math and literature in preparation for boarding school in Singapore.”
Recipient: Robert Hill
Program: M.S. in Education (Mathematics, Grades 6-8)
Title: Elementary School Math Teacher, Malvern, Ark.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “I chose a master’s program in middle school mathematics to improve my own knowledge of mathematics and teaching practice to become a more effective teacher and have a greater impact on student achievement. My coursework in the program has already directly impacted my teaching. I have identified specific strategies—such as providing immediate feedback to students, implementing power standards, and incorporating multiple intelligences and learning styles—that have improved the quality of instruction and made learning interesting, exciting and engaging for my students.”
Recipient: Erin Manzanares
Program: M.S. in Education (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment)
Title: Fourth-Grade Teacher, Abiquiu, N.M.; Former Theater Manager (she plans to open a school where art is integrated across the entire curriculum)
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “Before I open a school, I need time to develop as an educator. I am constantly learning new educational strategies, models and theories that I need time to work with, develop and make my own. I started coursework three months prior to returning to the classroom. This has allowed the classroom to be my stage and my students the actors. I am able to bring ideas from discussions with my graduate classmates—lessons that I have created under the supervision and feedback of my professors—and ideas spawned by fellow educators, to direct and choreograph my students to stage spectacular performances. It is this practice and the attainment of my master’s degree that will provide me with the knowledge and credibility to open a school.”
Recipient: Karen Mazanec
Program: M.S. in Education (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment)
Title: English as a Foreign Language Teacher, Grades 10–12, Mexico City
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “After starting to teach, I realized how much additional formal training as a teacher I needed to truly be effective. It seemed that my lesson plans were more like experiments of trial and error instead of founded upon proven teaching theories and techniques. Before embarking on my master’s, I never imagined the profound, positive impact and immediate applicability this new knowledge would have on my teaching, my students and also on me. I now wish I hadn’t waited so long to begin.”
Program: M.S. in Education (Elementary Reading and Mathematics)
Title: Fifth-Grade Teacher, Louisville, Ky.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “I have been able to immediately put into practice new ideas and the insights I have gained. One of the major insights I gained is the use of inventive strategies and how critical it is to make connections to real-world applications. Instead of teaching mathematic procedures, I have learned how to incorporate problem-solving strategies into each area of mathematics. Students must be taught for understanding, not memorization of skills. Connections to real-world applications are vital and necessary. My students are making connections across the curriculum and are gaining confidence in mathematics.”
Recipient: Julie Engeland
Program: M.S. in Education (Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas)
Title: Middle School ESL Teacher, Spokane Valley, Wash.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “By going through the process of earning my second master’s degree, I will better serve the seventh- and eighth-grade English language learners that I work with in the future. I currently hold a Master of Arts in Teaching, but I wanted to increase my knowledge of literacy and learning in the content areas for secondary students. I will be finished with my degree this summer, which will allow me to be prepared to meet each of the standards required of a National Board Certificated Teacher during the 2007–2008 school year.”
Recipient: Peter DeFeo
Program: M.S. in Education (Educational Leadership)
Title: High School Math Teacher, Sicklerville, N.J.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “One of the aspects of the Walden Educational Leadership specialization I am most excited about is the internship program. By taking part in the events principals face every day, I am better able to understand the challenges and rewards that come with the position. If there is one thing I have learned in my six courses at Walden, it is this: It is a wonderful thing to learn and understand the research and theory about the best ways to enhance student learning; it is quite another to have the courage of my convictions to implement the necessary changes, as well as build the capacity of others to make changes by taking risks and making mistakes. I always tell my students, ‘Don’t talk about it, be about it.’ This is clearly a mantra that Walden has reinforced through the coursework I have experienced.”
Recipient: Lisa Sayler
Program: M.S. in Education (Elementary Reading and Literacy)
Title: Special Education Teacher, Milwaukee
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “The M.S. in Education program at Walden will continue to prepare me to support student learning in my classroom. Reading is an area of greatest weakness for the students I work with. Generally, students with learning disabilities have a difficult time decoding the written word and comprehending what they read. If a student is able to overcome his or her difficulty with reading, then the other subjects will come easier. My education experience at Walden University has provided me with the knowledge and resources to implement some of the best practices for teaching reading.”
School of Health Sciences
Recipient: Paul Dabney
Program: Master of Public Health (Community Health Education)
Title: Preventive Medical Officer, Arizona Army National Guard
How Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “A master’s degree from Walden University will not only provide me the knowledge to confront pressing public health concerns, it will allow me to assist in strengthening our infrastructure of public health practices. An advanced degree will allow me to challenge and motivate a diverse population with enhanced proficiency, thus providing me with opportunities to expand my knowledge, innovative skills and responsibilities in an increasingly scientific society.”
Recipient: Marcea Whitaker, M.D.
Program: Master of Public Health (Community Health Education)
Title: Medical Officer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Division of Reproductive and Urologic Products, Silver Spring, Md.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Effectiveness: “My reasons for pursuing the M.P.H. degree are several. First, the course of study would improve my knowledge base and understanding of public health policy. Second, I am interested in exploring epidemiology, health behavior and community health at a deeper level and using this knowledge to promote faith-based community projects. Lastly, I seek to use the learned information to broaden my professional scope, improve critical thinking in areas relating to public health, and subsequently, apply this knowledge to the drug review process.”
School of Management
Recipient: Margaret Tomocho, M.D.
Program: Dual Master of Public Health/Master of Business Administration
Title: Physician, Pediatric Associates, Montrose, Colo.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Effectiveness: “Over the past year, I have moved into the managing partner position at my practice. This role … allows me to see, firsthand, the financial obstacles that face a medical organization, particularly organizations that are committed to serving the poor. These experiences have led me to pursue an M.P.H./M.B.A. degree at Walden. I believe that as a physician, I am obligated to educate and promote health in the community. The background I have gained in my M.P.H. classes has enabled me to more effectively develop ways to educate and promote wellness in the community. In addition, I am dedicated to advocating for the medically indigent, and the knowledge I have acquired in my M.P.H. coursework has given me more confidence in promoting the idea that all people should have access to quality health care.”
School of Psychology
Recipient: Dean Pappas
Program: M.S. in Mental Health Counseling
Title: Art Therapist, Salt Lake City, Utah
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “It is my firm commitment to address all the attendant issues surrounding the social welfare of youth at risk: promoting social justice, adjudicating historical factors, and altering the socio-political context to the degree that all youth not only have opportunities to enhance their own lives, but the opportunity to pass on positive generational social and mental health. My goal is not only to affect youth at risk and their families in my immediate community, but also to write about and research effective treatment models, taking successful models out into the professional community through conferences, lectures and seminars.”
Recipient: Melanie Thornton
Program: M.S. in Psychology
Title: Police Officer (Crisis Intervention Team), Arvada, Colo.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “I have been exposed to many acts of violence that emotionally impacted other officers and myself. The aftermath of these incidents exposed the lack of mental health support and resources available to police officers after such incidents. Since 2005, I have been training new police officers and guiding them through these types of crises. I believe that I have a responsibility to prepare myself more fully in the realm of psychology and its relevance to the lives of police officers.”
Recipient: Kate Toth
Title: M.S. in Psychology (Industrial/Organizational)
Title: HR Coordinator, School of Nursing, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “My interests do not simply lie in academia, but in applied research to make my organization a better place to work. I plan on researching the stigma of mental illness in the workplace for my thesis. This foundation will, I hope, lead to doctoral work at Walden concentrating on an evaluation of a targeted anti-stigma intervention strategy at McMaster University. My master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology will enhance my effectiveness in this role by providing me with an increased understanding of why people think, feel and act in the ways that they do, both as individuals and within organizations.”
Recipient: Charlene Cullen-Wagner
Program: M.S. in Psychology
Title: Psychological Assistant, Youth Assessment Center, Clive, Alberta
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “I recently began my thesis and am proud and excited to be examining the relationship between parenting methods and adolescent identity development. Everyone is at one time a child and an adolescent, and I believe our experiences during these critical times significantly impact our identity and future functioning. For this reason, I feel passionate about working with the adolescent population and their families, with hopes to improve adolescent and family functioning, as well as decrease substance abuse, suicide ideation, criminal activity and issues of mental health that continue to plague our society.”
School of Public Policy and Administration
Recipient: Toni Barnes
Program: Master of Public Administration
Title: High School Criminal Justice Instructor, Stockbridge, Ga.
How the Master’s Degree Will Enhance My Professional Development: “In January 2007, I founded a nonprofit organization in Georgia that operates a juvenile diversion program. The mission of the Kingdom Youth Village Inc. and Sowing Our Seeds Juvenile Diversion Program is to provide a positive alternative to formal court proceedings for motivated, nonviolent youth offenders. Providing this service gives young offenders the chance to maintain clean criminal records; it holds them accountable for their action, and offers them a second chance at life. By pursing my graduate degree in public administration … I plan to become an effective policy-maker who will enrich the lives of the less fortunate.”
Scholarship Information
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