Orientation Gets Underway for UC s First Cohort of Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows

A handful of them just marched at Commencement, but they’re back in class at UC. One of them is a grandfather of 12. Another is a mom who will commute to Cincinnati daily from the Springfield area of Ohio. The University of Cincinnati’s first cohort of 18 Woodrow Wilson STEM Teaching Fellows began their summer orientation on June 15.

The program provides $30,000 stipends to the students who are preparing to teach math and science, provided that they dedicate three years to teaching in high-need urban or rural schools.

The UC Woodrow Wilson STEM Teaching Fellows will complete an intensive, year-long field-based master’s degree in UC’s teacher education program and licensure under the mentorship of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) faculty in CECH, as well as UC’s McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).

Their first day of orientation included a special luncheon with a meal prepared by Lawrence J. Johnson, dean of CECH. “This is a tradition on the first day of classes for our freshmen. We cook pasta for them so that we can welcome them into our family. So welcome, all of you, into our family.”

Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor James M. Petro, UC Provost Santa Ono, UC Executive Vice President Karen Faaborg, UC Faculty Chair Richard Harknett, Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Mary Ronan and other representatives of UC’s community partnerships – including Strive and the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative – were in attendance at the luncheon as the fellows introduced themselves. Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor James M. Petro announced the state’s first Woodrow Wilson Ohio Teaching Fellows last month.

Helen Meyer, coordinator of the Woodrow Wilson program at UC and director of the FUSION Center in CECH, explained that the Ohio Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows are funded in partnership with the Ohio Board of Regents/state Choose Ohio First funds and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.

“I’ve been in Cincinnati a tremendous amount of time. I graduated from Morehouse College a lot of years ago – 1977 – which means I graduated before my fellow fellows were born,” joked Roosevelt Merritts Sr., one of the UC fellows and a grandfather of 12. He is looking ahead to becoming a math teacher. “Kids today need a lot of help, and hopefully, I can make that difference,” he said.

Fellow David Sofge earned a BA in math from the University of Florida and spent years working for the Department of Defense, but is now changing careers to foster his love of math to future generations.

Brian Laiveling just graduated from UC with a BS in mechanical engineering and says he celebrated his “two whole days of summer vacation” before returning to orientation as a Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellow. “I’m looking forward to introducing some engineering topics into a physics classroom to get more kids into the field,” he said.

Angela Yake, a 33-year-old mother of three, will be commuting daily from South Charleston, Ohio. A former instructor for Clark State Community College, her interest in teaching in the STEMM field was fueled in part because of her activities with her children. She has worked with high school students as a glee club advisor and also serves as a 4-H advisor. Because of the stipend, she says she will be able to complete her degree without causing the family lost income from leaving her job.

Jordan Woods, who also just graduated from UC, was awarded a full Cincinnatus scholarship to the university in 2008. Woods says her initial plan when she entered college was to go to medical school, so she earned her degree in neuroscience in just three years. She was drawn into the Woodrow Wilson program as a result of her volunteer work with urban children, particularly at Hughes Center, where she helped coach sports and became involved in Cincinnati Urban Young Life, a youth ministry organization at Hughes. She wants to teach high school students. “It has been a great experience, coaching that age and serving as a mentor – someone for them to trust and depend on.”

The fellows will begin a summer field experience on June 20, working with at-risk high school freshmen in the Freshman Challenge Program at UC and the Cincinnati Nature Center. They’ll get a brief break in mid-August before beginning a clinical experience that stretches through next spring.

Also in attendance at the luncheon were faculty representing CECH, the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences who are guiding the fellows through the Woodrow Wilson program.

UC and three other Ohio universities – the University of Akron, John Carroll University and The Ohio State University – were named as Woodrow Wilson STEM Fellows institutions in March 2010, following an earlier site visit. Recruitment got underway in late fall/winter. The program is now expanding to include Ohio University, the University of Dayton and the University of Toledo.

UC’s Woodrow Wilson STEM Fellows

Bailey Blake, Strongsville, Ohio
Teaching area: Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BS in mechanical engineering – Ohio Northern University

Jason Duncan, Columbus, Ohio
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BS in biological sciences – James Madison University; PhD in Biological Sciences – The Ohio State University

Angel Fields, Hamilton, Ohio
Teaching area: Chemistry
Undergraduate study: BA in chemistry – University of Cincinnati

Amy Gunderman, Hillsboro, Ohio
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BS in biology – John Carroll University

Katelin Jarmin, Hillsboro, Ohio
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BS in biology – The Ohio State University

Emily Kill, Spencerville, Ohio
Teaching area: Chemistry
Undergraduate study: BS in pharmacology – The Ohio State University

Daniel Kmetz, Strongsville, Ohio
Teaching area: Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BA in mathematics – Calvin College, Mich.

Brian Laiveling, Cincinnati
Teaching area: Physics
Undergraduate study: BS in mechanical engineering – University of Cincinnati

Samuel Linser, Cincinnati
Teaching area: Physics
Undergraduate study: BA in physics – University of Cincinnati

Brooke McCullough, Canfield, Ohio
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BS in biology – University of Cincinnati

Roosevelt Merritts, Cincinnati
Teaching area: Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BA in mathematics, Moorehouse College

Jared Nerenberg, Middletown, Ohio
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BS in health sciences – University of Cincinnati

Shawn Rockey, Lebanon, Ohio
Teaching area: Physics/Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BS in engineering – University of Cincinnati

Jacob Shafer, Columbus, Ohio
Teaching area: Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BA in mathematics – Denison University

David Sofge, Batavia, Ohio
Teaching area: Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BA in mathematics – University of North Florida

Jordan Woods, Covington, Ky.
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BS in neuroscience – University of Cincinnati

Lynsi Woods, Canal Winchester, Ohio
Teaching area: Life Sciences
Undergraduate study: BA in zoology – Miami University

Angela Yake, South Charleston, Ohio
Teaching area: Mathematics
Undergraduate study: BS in management information systems – Wright State University

Ohio Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships

Woodrow Wilson Foundation