{"id":382382,"date":"2019-05-20T15:09:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T19:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=382382"},"modified":"2019-06-03T15:35:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T19:35:10","slug":"four-high-school-teachers-receive-singer-family-prize-382382","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/four-high-school-teachers-receive-singer-family-prize-382382\/","title":{"rendered":"Four high school teachers receive Singer Family Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commencement 2019: This is one in a series<\/strong><\/a> of stories marking the 169th Commencement ceremonies of the University of Rochester.<\/em><\/p>\n

Four high school teachers who had important influence on members of the Class of 2019 received the University\u2019s Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching <\/a>at a ceremony in Hoyt Auditorium on May 18.<\/p>\n

A Commencement tradition for the past 12 years, the Singer Family Prize is given to high school teachers who have made a difference in the lives of the seniors who nominate them. Recipients are invited to Rochester and are recognized at a ceremony during Commencement weekend. They also receive $3,000, a plaque, $2,500 for their school, and travel expenses.<\/p>\n

Paul Singer \u201966, \u201917 (Honorary) and his son, Gordon Singer, support the prize through The Paul Singer Family Foundation.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s recipients are:<\/p>\n

Melissa Carl, a social studies teacher at West York Area High School in York, Pennsylvania<\/strong>
\nNominated by Allison Morningstar<\/em><\/p>\n

Carl has been a social studies teacher since 1993\u2014the past 15 years at West York. Morningstar was 13 when she met Carl, and the two forged a bond. Carl was her teacher and advisor, and her mentor when she began looking at colleges.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a first-generation student, Melissa Carl helped me identify strong research schools that met 100 percent of my financial need and heavily advocated for me to receive the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award,\u201d Morningstar wrote in her nomination letter. \u201cIt\u2019s because of her and that award that I attended Rochester and had access to so many incredible opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morningstar is headed to Munich this summer on a Fulbright US student grant and plans to pursue a doctorate in neuroscience. She says Carl remains a \u201cstrong and influential presence\u201d in her life, nearly a decade after they met.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I struggled with feelings of inadequacy early in college, she reassured me of my capabilities. She believed in me before I was able to believe in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marquis Harrison \u201908 (T5), a history teacher at Frederick Douglass Academy in New York City
\n<\/strong>Nominated by Hector Abreu and Stephaun Ward<\/em><\/p>\n

Harrison graduated from Rochester with degrees in African-American studies and political science. He served as president of the Black Students Union, vice president of Students\u2019 Association government, wrote for the Campus Times<\/em>, was a member of\u00a0 the Debate Union, and was an English teaching assistant. He also was a Take Five scholar.<\/p>\n

The New York City native has been a teacher for 11 years and has steered more than a dozen students to Rochester, making an annual spring visit to the River Campus to \u201chelp convince them that Rochester is the perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward, a mechanical engineering major, says Harrison taught him \u201cdiscipline, humility, how to be empathetic to others, and most importantly, my constitutional rights.\u201d Abreu, a business major, was Harrison\u2019s student in middle school and high school and says he learned \u201ceverything the University of Rochester has to offer\u201d from him.<\/p>\n

Harrison says he\u2019s humbled to be nominated by his former students. \u201cI\u2019ve seen them evolve into amazing human beings and feel so proud to have attended their graduation,\u201d he says. \u201cGood teachers and mentors helped push me throughout my life. We must all pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debra Jones, a science teacher at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas
\n<\/strong>Nominated by Dominique James<\/em><\/p>\n

Jones has taught in the Dallas area for 35 years\u2014the first 33 in low income, urban districts. \u201cDespite this, she found ways to motivate us to care about science and think creatively,\u201d says James, who received a degree in biomedical engineering and plans to pursue a doctorate in that field at the University of Texas at Dallas.<\/p>\n

James credits Jones with providing her first true experience as an engineer in high school by supervising a yearlong project within the nonprofit organization Destination Imagination,\u201d where teams work in groups of seven. \u201cMrs. Jones turned her classroom and office into our working space,\u201d James says. \u201cShe bought craft supplies, wooden pieces, and fabric, and always had a full snack drawer for us when we spent long hours after school.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also taught James how to budget her study time. The two have remained close and often met for lunch or dinner when James returned home on break from college.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Jones has and will continue to impact my life as I continue on with my career,\u201d James says.<\/p>\n

Georgia Lignou, a social studies teacher at William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens
\n<\/strong>Nominated by Maisha Idris<\/em><\/p>\n

Lignou could barely speak English when she immigrated to America from Greece at 19. But she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Queens College, and a master\u2019s degree from New York University before beginning her teaching career at Bryant High in 1997.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe taught us the importance of civic engagement, our responsibilities toward the greater community, and the power of an education,\u201d says Idris, an Edmund A. Hajim Scholar and first-generation student who graduated Sunday with a degree in computer science.<\/p>\n

Idris says Lignou made her students aware of their power as citizens, the importance of community engagement, and the need to live sustainably and take care of the planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day after classes ended, she would stay an additional hour and walk through each classroom to separate the recyclables from the trash,\u201d Idris says. \u201cShe started doing this alone, but students formed an Environment Health Club and started joining her on evening treks through the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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