STEM EDUCATION NEWS

summer term of 2016 and entered their job placements in the fall.

This year was CSU’s inaugural year for the program; however, the

Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship has been operating for

several years in other states such as Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and

New Jersey. This program is open to college seniors, graduates,

and career changers who have majored in and/or have a strong

professional background in a STEM field and who demonstrate a

commitment to the program and its goals. The program at CSU

integrates coursework with clinical experiences in middle and high

school settings. Teaching Fellows selected for the program receive

financial support during the 15 month program through stipends and

partial tuition waivers. After completing their programs of study,

students earn a master’s degree in education. Immediately upon

graduation, students commit to teach for at least three years in high

need, low performing secondary schools. The aim of Woodrow

Wilson is to restore prestige to the field of teaching and effectively

create leaders of tomorrow.

FALL 2016

Photo Caption

Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows & Summer Graduates

T he first cohort of students in the

program known as the

Woodrow Wilson Teaching

Fellowship completed their

program of study at the end of the

Pictured left to right: Top Row: Allen Clarkson & Marcus Stevens; Second row:

Mark Kagika, Althea Roy, Ashley Hunter, Brian Moler, & Brandon Hewitt; Front

Row: Autumn McMunn, Melissa Youngs, Blair Fine, Lauren Pace, & Kelly Colburn.

“Innovation starts in the

classroom. To ensure

that we have leaders for

tomorrow, we must invest

in education today.”

-Woodrow Wilson

Teaching Fellowship

Meet the CSU Fellows 2015-2016 Mark Kagika was born in Kenya, but he has

lived in Atlanta since 2005. He attended Duke

University (2009-2013) and earned a Bache-

lor of Science in Engineering (BSE) in Me-

chanical Engineering and minored in Music.

Mark completed his year long internship at

Marion County Middle

High School where he is

now teaching seventh

grade math. In his free

time, he enjoys choral

singing, swimming, and

reading.

Marcus Stevens is from

Senoia, Georgia. He at-

tended Georgia State Uni-

versity where he earned his

undergraduate degree in

physics. During his time in

the CSU program, he

worked at Troup County

High School. He is now

teaching math at East

Coweta High School. Marcus enjoys astronomy and

juggling.

Blair Fine

(pictured center)

is from Law-

renceville, GA.

During her first

years of college,

she attended

Shorter Universi-

ty on an athletic scholarship for soccer

and now enjoys being a coach. Blair is a

graduate of the University of Georgia

where she earned a degree in biology.

During her year long internship in the

Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship

Program, she was placed at Chattahoo-

chee County High School. Blair is now

working at Johnson High School in

Gainesville, GA, where she is teaching

Biology and Forensics.

Brian Moler hails from Cheyenne, WY and

earned his undergraduate degree from the

University of Wyoming in 2008 in mathematics.

Brian was an Eagle scout and recipient of the

State of Wyoming Excellence Award as well as

multiple academic

scholarships. During

his college career,

Brian served as a stu-

dent researcher and

spent time working with

cryptography and com-

puter distribution. After

earning his bachelor’s

degree, Brian worked as an applications engi-

neer at an international technology firm. Brian

is teaching math at Discovery High School in

Lawrenceville, GA, this year.

Althea Roy is

from the greater

Atlanta area.

She attended

Emory University,

graduating with a

BS in Chemistry

and a BA in Eng-

lish Literature. She worked in an astro-

physical chemistry lab and with the Divi-

sion of Animal Resources while at Emory

before graduating and pursuing teaching.

She taught special education resource

chemistry at Duluth High School before

becoming a Woodrow Wilson Teaching

Fellow. Althea was placed at Marion

County Middle/High School for her year

long internship and is teaching Chemistry

and Research Methods at South Cobb

High School this school year. During her

free time she enjoys running, hiking,

horseback riding, painting and baking.

Ashley Hunter is from Northport, AL. She grad-

uated from Auburn University in 2009 with a

degree in chemistry. She worked for Cott Bev-

erages for five years as an associate scientist in

product development where she crafted all sorts

of beverages from organic juices to carbonated

soft drinks. Ashley is an active youth leader at

Cascade Hills Church, where she attends. She

has been volunteering at Sound Choices Preg-

nancy Clinic for the past six years and currently

serves as a peer

counselor to women in

crisis pregnancies.

Ashley loves to eat,

and, therefore, runs a

lot. This year she ran

her first half-marathon.

She was placed at

Shaw High School in

Columbus, GA, for her year long internship and

is now teaching science at Jordan High School

in Columbus, GA.

A native of Forsyth, Georgia, Lauren Pace earned her undergraduate

degree in Biology at Georgia College and State University. Lauren

has special interests in cellular and molecular physiology, oncology,

and entomology. She did her year long internship at Westside High

School in Macon and is now teaching biology and human anatomy

and physiology at Mary Persons High School which happens to be her

alma mater. Lauren enjoys cooking, reading memoirs, and spending

time with family in her spare time. She also says that her favorite

parts about teaching are in providing opportunities to expand students’ worldviews through engaging lessons

and in building positive relationships with her students.

Meet the CSU Fellows (cont.)

Before coming to Columbus State University for the Wood-

row Wilson Teaching Fellowship, Allen Clarkson lived in Dar-

ien, GA. It is a small fishing town on the coast of Georgia.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from Georgia

College and State University in 2014. He did his year long

internship at Hardaway High School under his mentor teach-

er, Victoria Andras. Allen is now teaching biology at

Peachtree Ridge High School in Gwinnett County, GA. In

his spare time he enjoys playing tennis and disc golf.

Autumn McMunn is originally from

Ardmore, AL. She graduated with a

degree in mathematics and second-

ary education from the University of

North Alabama in 2014. During her

time at UNA

she worked as

an undergrad-

uate research-

er, counselor,

teaching in-

tern, math

tutor, and sec-

retary. She was also a participant in

UNA STEM camp, a member of the

robotics team, and served as treas-

urer both for the honors student or-

ganization and Kappa Delta Pi honor

society. Autumn was the recipient

of multiple academic scholarships

throughout her college career and

was chosen as a Woodrow Wilson

Fellow in 2014. She completed her

year long internship at Chattahoo-

chee County Middle/High School and

is now a 7th grade math teacher at

Long Cane Middle School.

Kelly Colburn

is from Line-

ville, AL. She

graduated from

Auburn Univer-

sity in 2013

with a Bache-

lor's in Pure

Mathematics.

She participat-

ed in undergraduate research and co-

authored publications in Industrial and Organi-

zational Psychology. Kelly was a member of

Auburn University's Student Satellite Program

which was tasked to engineer a satellite with a

mission of gathering data on high altitude

thunderstorms that launched in 2012. She

became a teacher because she wanted to be

a part of the betterment of society via educa-

tion. Her focus and research area in education

is Inquiry-Based Learning. Kelly is continuous-

ly collaborating with experts from Auburn and

other universities in order to provide research-

based instruction that engages students. She

currently teaches Algebra II at Bainbridge

High School in Bainbridge, Georgia.

Melissa Youngs is a native of Columbus, Georgia. She completed

her undergraduate work at Georgia College and State University in

2015, where she majored in chemistry and worked as a research

assistant as well as chemistry lab and stock room assistant. Melissa

is a faithful community volunteer. She enjoys serving as a judge for

the local science fairs and spends much of her free time demonstrat-

ing and volunteering for elementary schools in the area. Melissa

completed her year long internship at Hardaway High School in Columbus and is now

teaching science there.

Brandon Hewitt is a professional engineer who has built

and owns several million dollar businesses. He describes

himself as an innovative self-starter who is highly motivat-

ed and works well in a team setting. Brandon’s company,

KHAFRA Engineering Consultants, which he grew from a

three member team with one office in Atlanta to a firm of

over 200 professionals with offices in Georgia, Alabama,

Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Dallas, and Indiana, has worked on several projects

including the Atlanta airport expansion, the Olympic Stadium, the Falcon stadium, the

Birmingham Barons baseball stadium, as well as several Atlanta public school renova-

tions and additions. He holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of Califor-

nia at Berkeley, a MS in structural engineering from Howard University in Washington,

DC, and a masters in business administration from Seattle City University in Seat-

tle ,WA. Brandon completed his year long internship at Carver High School here in

Columbus and is now teaching math at McNair High School in Dekalb County, GA.