It is at the urging of my undergraduate advisor—and Harvard alum—Bethany Nelson that I am submitting this application to you. It is her belief, and mine as well, that my academic record and career goals are a perfect match for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and more specifically, the Specialized Program. I know that you will agree.
In 1999, I was valedictorian of my class at Avon High School. Vice President of the National Honor Society, and a Boston Globe Book Award Scholar, I excelled academically. I was also a trained Peer Mediator. This program gave me the opportunity to work closely with the guidance department in handling disputes and behavior problems as an alternative to administrative discipline. It is through Peer
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There are two members of the faculty with whom I am most interested in working: Steven Seidel and Jocelyn Chadwick.
Steven Seidel appealed to me because of his strong interest in Arts in Education. I share that interest, as my upcoming degree in Theatre Education clearly shows. My primary goal is to teach theatre and literature in the middle school or high school setting. Dr. Seidel did this himself before joining the faculty at HGSE. I think his experience would be invaluable to me.
I am also very interested in the subject of portfolios as an accurate assessment of student learning. I was very pleased to see that Dr. Seidel is a champion of this approach, as well. I believe that working closely with Dr. Seidel would be a very lucrative academic venture for me.
Working closely with Jocelyn Chadwick interests me, as well. I deeply admire her work with at-risk youths. It is an area to which I am very drawn. I have a minor in Psychology, and once considered pursuing a career in social work. Though my attention has turned towards teaching, I am still very much concerned with students at risk. I look forward to the opportunity to further explore the subject with Dr.