In an interview with his hometown newspaper, the Lowell Sun in Massachusetts, Drew Gallagher ’11 discusses his recent teaching awards and educational disparity in the nation’s capital.

All smiles, Drew Gallagher ’11 poses with a group of his students at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Drew Gallagher ’11.

Entering the teaching profession through Teach for America, Gallagher was one of nearly 600 new first-year teachers in the Washington public schools in fall 2011. That year, �ֲ���ý was ranked 17th in the country for number of Teach for America participants.

He won the New Teacher of the Year award in 2012 and the Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Educators, an honor he shares with just 27 other teachers in the district. The award comes with a $5,000 cash prize.

Gallagher teaches at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School, where 61 percent of students are multilingual or English Language Learners. Almost 90 percent receive free or reduced lunch.

Despite the limited resources at his school, he believes his students are “incredibly talented kids who all have the ability to rise.”

As a Teach for America recruit, Gallagher made Washington, D.C., his top choice precisely because it is one of the lowest performing urban districts in the country.

He says it’s “completely ridiculous” for any school in the nation’s capital to under-perform “when change is being made here every day.”

Ana Brzezinska ’11 has received an English Teaching Assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. These grants support recipients in positions as teaching assistants abroad who work with local students on their English language skills and knowledge of the United States. As the same time, the teaching assistants pursue individual research.

Brzezinska will teach English in Germany and also research the experiences of the Turkish immigrant population, which was the topic of her senior politics thesis at �ֲ���ý.

Studying in Germany in 2008-09, Brzezinska experienced the difficulties that language barriers create for people in a foreign land. This inspired her to volunteer in an English-as-a-second-language program upon her return.

“I saw my ESL students’ eyes opening to the new world around them,” she says. “They had faced the same obstacles to communication that I had faced in Germany, but as the summer progressed, I could see a marked difference in the way they interacted among themselves and with me.

“They could now make plans for the future.”

Brzezinska’s Fulbright-supported research will explore the emergence of immigrant cultural centers, interactions between immigrants and local populations, and the influence of Turkish culture on German society. She hopes to supplement her work with university courses.

Among the 437 students who graduated from �ֲ���ý College last May were 11 pioneers of a nationally distinctive program designed to address the need for more diversity among students in mathematics and the sciences.

The 11 graduates were the inaugural participants in the college’s first Summer Scholars program, launched in 2007. Aimed at students from groups underrepresented in the sciences and math, the annual program gives a group of accepted first-year students an accelerated introduction to the demands and routines of college academics and residence life.

The outcomes for that inaugural group suggest that the program is effective. Among the 2007 Summer Scholars are:

• a biological chemistry major who is entering dental school;
• a psychology major hoping to earn a second degree in nursing;
• a double major in art and interdisciplinary studies (public health) who will teach chemistry in Baltimore through the Teach for America program;
• and a biochemistry major who will attend Spain’s Barcelona Graduate School of Economics to study medical economics.

“�ֲ���ý cares about diversity,” says Michael Martinez, a dean of student transition who worked with the 2011 Summer Scholars. “We want to make sure that the institution is not only doing a great job of recruiting diversity, but helping the diverse group of people that we bring in actually thrive when they get here.”

The students come from all corners of the country, including Maine. “They’re Hispanic, Asian American, white, black,” says Martinez.

This innovative �ֲ���ý initiative is aimed at academically superior students whose backgrounds may not have prepared them for aspects of college life that may be old hat to families with college histories.

The scholars live on campus and take one math and one science course, each the equivalent of an academic-year course — but compressed into six weeks. Mastering the course work and labs involves evening and weekend study, and intense, one-on-one collaboration among the scholars and with faculty.

The program teaches time-management skills and study practices, and introduces students to laboratory environments and to such insider information as course registration tactics.

And the program instills confidence that the Summer Scholars carry into the start of the academic year. “I felt comfortable enough to ask questions,” says Akinyele Akinruntan, a 2009 Summer Scholar from Memphis, Tenn.

Perhaps most important, the program encourages students to form relationships that sustain them academically and personally. Most of the 2007 scholars, says associate dean of student transition Carmita McCoy, “are still very close from that first experience living together four years ago. They have supported each other ever since — hanging out with each other, studying together, keeping in communication even during the summer.

“And the bonds they made with faculty and staff, they found to be very helpful.”

“I was able to meet good people, students and faculty who shared my passion for the sciences,” says Akinruntan, a junior psychology major who hopes to become a psychologist.

In fact, the Summer Scholars program was meaningful enough to Akinruntan that he has spent summer 2011 giving back to it. As a residence fellow living with the 2011 Summer Scholars, he has mentored these 10 first-years as they have studied historic concepts in math and the physics of sound.

“I’ve given them advice every day,” he says.

What one word best describes �ֲ���ý?

Their responses are below. “In a Word: �ֲ���ý” is an end-of-year project of the �ֲ���ý Fund that’s seen a variety of alumni, faculty, staff and students responding to the �ֲ���ý-in-a-word question.

To bring such abstract questions to a “more informed and pragmatic” context, Hansen shared perspectives from �ֲ���ý Career Development Center director Karen McRoberts.

From a career perspective, Hansen related, the �ֲ���ý liberal arts experience gives students the ability to create a compelling and distinctive narrative about themselves, a story “that shows that what you did translates into the analytical skills, the communications skills, and the interpersonal skills that employers, graduate schools and professional schools want.”

Graduate Erin Kintzing of Rensselaer, N.Y. marvels at her sheepskin.

Carolyn Silva-Sanchez '11 of Lexington, Mass., shows off her new �ֲ���ý diploma to nephew David Francisco Andron-Silva, 15 months.

Physical Plant custodian Wayne Medlen poses for a Commencement photo with magna cum laude graduate Mohamed Masid Cader '11 of Lewiston.

After the Commencement ceremony, a graduate takes a moment to survey the scene -- and find his family -- from the steps of Hathorn Hall.

Ned Antell '11 of Sherborn, Mass., receives a hug from his father, Rick, as his mother, Susan, watches.

Always uplifting, the 2011 Commencement ceremony had a conversational, convivial spirit, as presenters on stage passed laughs around, friends and families jostled for camera angles and cheered on their graduates, and the clouds finally parted, allowing unfiltered sunshine to illuminate the 145th �ֲ���ý College Commencement. Photographs by Phyllis Graber Jensen.

Here, Simone Pathe ’11 of Madison, N.J., reflects on how her experiences in Lewiston and Rwanda helped break down barriers for her.

Emily Howe ’11 of Carlisle, Mass., reflects on her first �ֲ���ý visit, and how discouragement turned to hope after getting solid college advice from �ֲ���ý coaches.

Here, Uriel Gonzalez ’11 of Von Ormy, Texas, reflects on being the ineffable quality of �ֲ���ý: its people.

Here, Margaret Cadden ’11 of Reading, Mass., reflects on how she could engage in the breadth of �ֲ���ý life while pursuing the intellectual demands of her neuroscience major.

Here, Drew Gallagher ’11 of Lowell, Mass., reflects on the happy ending of one admission tour this spring.

Here, Emily Cassidy ’11 of East Hampton, N.Y., recalls meeting “the criminology guy” — her adviser, Professor of Sociology Sawyer Sylvester.

Here, Ben McCall of South Portland, Maine, reflects on �ֲ���ý’ connection to Maine students.

Here, Molly Newton ’11 of Northampton, Mass., recalls how she answered a parent’s question: “Why is �ֲ���ý different?”

Here, Walter Garcia ’11 of Deer Isle, Maine, who took a year off from �ֲ���ý and will graduate in 2012, joined his 2011 classmates at the luncheon and recalls his debating experiences.

Here, Margaret Cadden ’11 of Reading, Mass., reflects on how she could engage in the breadth of �ֲ���ý life while pursuing the intellectual demands of her neuroscience major.

The seniors’ comments come from a recent Trustee luncheon, where each year the �ֲ���ý seniors in attendance respond to President Elaine Tuttle Hansen’s invitation to offer impromptu comments.

Here, Uriel Gonzalez ’11 of Von Ormy, Texas, reflects on being the ineffable quality of �ֲ���ý: its people.

The seniors’ comments come from a recent Trustee luncheon, where each year the �ֲ���ý seniors in attendance respond to President Elaine Tuttle Hansen’s invitation to offer impromptu comments.

Here, Admission fellow Drew Gallagher ’11 of Lowell, Mass., reflects on the happy ending of one admission tour this spring.

The seniors’ comments come from a recent Trustee luncheon, where each year the �ֲ���ý seniors in attendance respond to President Elaine Tuttle Hansen’s invitation to offer impromptu comments.