The Reich College of Education has partnered once again with Participate Learning to offer a Global Leaders Scholars program.
This program supports students to become globally competent leaders, providing the understanding of what it means to be a member of a global community as well as how to take action to improve their local and global community.
Impactful global learning happens in a school when global issues and concepts are meaningfully woven into academic learning -- not an add-on or separate subject area. By infusing global learning opportunities across grade levels, subjects, and school-wide activities, the scholars will develop the skills and competencies needed to unite with others around the world, develop new solutions to global challenges and therefore lead and thrive in the world community and global marketplace.
Using Participate Learning’s online platform, the Global Leaders Scholars will complete a series of online professional development learning experiences over the course of three semesters.
The first series will serve as an introduction to global leadership and will help the scholars cultivate a sense of global leadership in themselves and in their future students. The second series will focus on global instructional practices. Scholars will learn how to create inclusive classrooms, build relevance, promote student agency, and connect students beyond the classroom. The third series will culminate into an action project that the scholars will share at a global showcase.
Scholars will also participate in a professional learning community alongside current in-service educators.
Twenty scholars were selected based on a competitive application process. Upon completion of the program, they will earn digital credentials and badging as well as a global leaders certificate that will be endorsed by the Reich College of Education and Participate Learning.
Learn more about each of the scholars and why they chose this program:
Meet the Global Leaders Scholars
Megan Anderson
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to be a Global Leaders Scholar because my goal as a teacher is to encourage students to be positive global citizens, both inside and outside my classroom. Being a part of this program will afford me the opportunity to network with other Global Leaders Scholars who are just as passionate about global education and sustainable development, as I am!”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“Being a Global Leaders Scholar, I am provided tools that will allow me to bring global topics into my curriculum, in a fun and engaging manner. I plan to incorporate global issues and topics into my daily lesson plans, with the goal of empowering students to make positive impacts on society. I also plan to discuss these important topics with my fellow teachers to encourage them to find ways to continue the conversations within their classrooms.”
Bailey Cook
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“To gain more experience and become a better leader!”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I would incorporate professional development into my classroom by really engaging and learning from the PDs. I will take notes and research through the PDs so that I can remember the impact they will have in my classroom.”
Heidi Dix
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I wanted to be a Global Leaders Scholar so I could learn more about being a globally-minded teacher and incorporating the concepts into my classroom.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to learn insightful information about different ways to view all kinds of things in the classroom such as classroom management and discipline, in a global mindset.”
Alex Vazquez-Equihua
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to become a Global Leaders Scholar because I want to bring an empathetic, cultured window of the world into my social studies classroom. Being from the Appalachia area, this is especially important to me because all students have the right to an education, and I believe it should be as much local as it is global.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to incorporate this experience throughout my career not just in college. I will try to provide historical, social, and civic global perspectives to my lessons.”
Meagan Frost
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“Being recognized as a Global Leaders Scholar catalyzes the platform that I’m producing through my involvement as a student, and in due course of becoming a special educator. The field of special education is founded on the principles of inclusivity and diversity, therefore, my goal is to bring the contributing factors of a well-rounded global educational perspective into the field of special education. My responsibilities as an educator are amplified and enhanced to a larger platform that encompasses the areas that being a Global Leaders Scholar would present for me. As an educator, I desire to be of service to my students along their journey of self-identity and their voyage of unifying others around the world, with the hopes of propelling the solutions to various global difficulties.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“Executing the visions within the Global Leaders Scholars program allows for more substantial opportunities that call attention to a concerned and responsible learning environment. In addition, providing information, given to me through this professional development opportunity, about children with special needs to non-disabled peers will help break down the barriers and stereotypes that currently exist on a global scale. After graduation, the use of global education will be amplified in my classroom by unifying the connections with those who are hindered by barriers to education. This is the developmental platform that all educators should base their teachings on, and should constantly be ever-changing as a means to increase accessibility for students in all fields and subcategories of education.”
Brooklyn Hinkle
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to be a Global Leaders Scholar because I want to develop my leadership skills as well as create a more inclusive community that can think critically about their actions and how they affect others on a global scale.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to incorporate everything I learn from Global Leaders into my field experience and my future classroom to create a safe and more diverse environment, allowing an area of developmental growth that allows students to think about their decisions and how they not only affect themselves but how these decisions can impact everyone around them as well.”
Efren Lopez
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“As an educator, it is important to build a student's educational competence which can allow them to learn to apply that into their own communities, and I believe that through this program, I will be put on track to do that for my future students.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to be able to bring my future students perspective through experience. Instead of learning about human impacts on our environment through a PowerPoint, I want to be able to take my classroom to these sites of human environmental degradation and show them the significance.”
Amari Mealy
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to be a Global Leaders Scholar because I want to give my students the strength and confidence to know that they belong and are needed in the global community, something that wasn't afforded to me as a student. My dad is a foreign policy economist, so he works closely with other countries, and I always rejected him whenever he tried to share that part of his life with me because I didn't think the world outside of Maryland had a place for me. I regret missing out on those opportunities now, and I want to make sure that none of the children in my classroom feel that type of shame or the same type of regret I did. I want to know how can I empower my students to take action in the global communities and know they are valued, essential members of those communities.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I plan to provide my students with opportunities to connect the math and science concepts we are learning about in the classroom to real-world issues around the globe and how they can use the concepts we learn to solve those issues. I also hope to help my students appreciate and empathize with cultures from all around the world.”
Emerson Phillips
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to be a Global Leaders Scholar because the program aligns with some of my core values—empathy, empowerment, and understanding. I am so passionate about working to provide an accepting and open environment for my future students as an educator, and there is so much more that I have to learn! I fully believe that during my time at university and post-graduation, it is my responsibility to best prepare myself for the classroom that I will one day be teaching in. When I first heard about the Global Leaders Scholars program, I immediately knew that it would be an exceptional opportunity to grow in cultivating empathy and understanding and to learn how to translate these skills into the classroom. Over the next three semesters in this program, I hope to learn how to more deeply develop an understanding of others who are different from me, as well as learn practical applications of these skills in the classroom to best empower and encourage each of my future students.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to incorporate the skills learned from the program into my classroom by cultivating an environment where students feel accepted and supported. I am a strong believer that students cannot learn to the best of their ability if they do not feel safe in school, and I hope to use the skills gained from this experience to better support and encourage students from all types of backgrounds. Furthermore, I also want to use the lessons learned from this program to encourage my students to think critically about the world, as well as their position within a global context. I want to ensure that my students understand the vast impact they can have on their communities. Especially as a social studies education major, I want to focus on how I can apply these skills to teach my students to think critically in a historical and global context to learn how to problem solve.”
Jackson Piermont
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I saw it as a massive opportunity to learn about and build a professional brand, as well as develop skills and knowledge that would permit my students to be more worldly, rounded thinkers.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“Through the skills I hope to obtain, I will be able to be a positive role model for students and implant in them an interest and care for themselves and the world at large.”
Hailey Ricard
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to be a Global Leaders Scholar because I want to further my understanding of ways to teach my future students that they can make a difference in the world. Before I attended the interest meeting, I had little understanding of the terms global education and global leadership, but once I learned more about it, I realized how amazing the opportunity is to become a Global Leaders Scholar. One of my main goals is to help my future students understand global issues and create connections to the world around them, and the people in it. The water bottle lesson example really inspired me to want to incorporate more themes into my classroom that I feel I could learn from the Global Leaders Scholars Program.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity into my classroom by teaching lessons that encourage global learning. I will also encourage them to explore and think about subjects on a larger scale.”
Jordan Sherill
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to be a Global Leaders Scholar because I want to ensure that I will leave Appalachian State University as the best, well-rounded educator I could possibly be. I want to continuously learn about how I can integrate a global mindset in my future classroom, especially since I am studying special education. Anything I can do to ensure that my students feel like a valued and contributing member of society and the world, that is my ultimate goal.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope that through these professional development opportunities, I am able to notice and observe small things in a classroom space that can make a big difference and then be bold enough to act on those impulses. I hope that kids will look at me and see a professional who truly wants them to succeed and know that they can make a difference in the world around them.”
Ella Spears
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“In order to better equip myself to teach my students about their world and the part they play in it.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to learn ways to apply real-world events and issues into tangible projects and habits my students can learn to create and adapt to better their world and feel more connected to it.”
Bella Strupp
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I am very interested in widening my perspective in the education system. My students deserve the most well-rounded education that I can give them.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I am especially excited to teach my future students, who might not normally get a chance to travel, about different places around the world. I always want to train them to be good stewards of the natural world.”
Madeline Ward
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“I applied to the Global Leaders Scholars program because I've always valued incorporating a global mindset into my daily life. I am interested in gaining the skills and education necessary for being a better global citizen and encouraging my future students to do the same.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I hope to incorporate this development opportunity by learning how to connect any lesson plan or activity to a wider picture that is relevant not only to my students' personal lives but to people all around the world.”
Olivia Wasson
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“A recent international trip gave me a new perspective and a chance to think globally. I wanted to continue pursuing this mindset. I saw the Global Leaders Scholars Program as the perfect opportunity to do so that not only allowed me to work alongside like-minded peers but apply global ideas to my profession.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I plan to use this professional development opportunity to incorporate global concepts I learn into my curriculum that will teach my future students how to be global citizens.”
Emma Weeber
Why did you apply to be a Global Leaders Scholar?
“Being a Global Leaders Scholar is an opportunity for me to express my passion for diversity and share with both students and other educators how valuable it is to be aware of one's connection to the larger world and one's influence in social change. I want nothing more than to help my students find what they are passionate about in this world and help them feel empowered and ready to make a difference in other people's lives. I want to learn how to create an even more inclusive classroom in which my students' cultures and identities are celebrated and represented in my lessons and literature. As their teacher, I am responsible for making sure they see how beautiful they are and encourage them to see how their unique identities motivate and drive their interests. I want to connect them with individuals all over the world, read books written by authors sharing the same disabilities and cultures as my students, and encourage them to think critically and with curiosity about various perspectives and how these perspectives come together to form the world in which we live.”
How do you hope to incorporate this professional development opportunity in your classroom - both field experiences and after graduation?
“I want to continue to further my global awareness so that I can actively incorporate global perspectives into my teaching. My goal is to inspire my students to see beyond their own personal bubble- exploring perspectives and lived experiences both similar and different from their own. I think global education starts with one's desire to do more and learn more about different cultures, values, and social issues. No matter how intimidating the world may seem right now and how powerless we may feel in the presence of today's mass assortment of social dilemmas, when we start to view things on a smaller scale, taking our action and initiatives one step at a time, the power of our voices become more visible. Even if we feel we know nothing but want to do everything all at once, all it takes is someone who cares, wants to make a difference and be an advocate. I would love to inspire my students, even the youngest ones, to advocate for the topics they're passionate about. As a special education teacher, I want my students to feel that their voices and identities matter.”
Group photo of the Global Leaders Scholars
