Two Reich College of Education (RCOE) students have been inducted into the Cratis D. Williams Society of Outstanding Graduates:
- Josie Barnes
- Jean M. Hall
The society is designed to include each year’s top graduates of the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School at Appalachian State University – approximately the top 2%. Students are chosen based on their academic performance, their engagement in their discipline, and their potential for leadership.
Josie Barnes
After graduating from App State in 2024 with her Bachelor of Science in middle grades education, Josie Barnes, from Evans, Georgia, will graduate this May with a Master of Arts in Special Education.
Barnes chose App State because both of her parents graduated from the university. Initially, she was only going to add the special education minor because of a class she took; however, she quickly realized she wanted to learn more.
“My advisor told me about the accelerated master's program, and we immediately reworked my college plan to include a special education master's with a certification in emotional-behavior disorders,” said Barnes.
“After I was in the program and met more of the professors, I added my literacy and leadership certifications because the professors are so cool and so passionate about their work,” she continued.
“The professors and peers I have met throughout the program are definitely what I have enjoyed the most,” she noted. “I feel like I found my community, and I will forever hold on to the lessons learned and memories made.”
For Barnes, it is an honor to receive this award because she was nominated by her professors, for whom she holds so much respect and admiration.
“I want to grow up to be like them, so the joy of knowing they see potential in me makes me cry happy tears,” said Barnes.
After graduation, Barnes will teach third to fifth graders with emotional-behavioral disorders.
“I am so excited to meet my students and start learning together!”
Jean M. Hall
Jean M. Hall, from Wilmington, North Carolina, completed her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Louisville. She will graduate with her Doctorate in educational leadership in May 2025.
Hall chose to pursue a doctorate because “learning is my means of feeling alive.”
“Being a life-long educator and learner, it is important to me that my professional counterparts see my love of learning, and I hope to inspire others to pursue higher degrees, especially first-generation students like myself,” she added.
For Hall, the doctoral program at App State clicked with her on a practical and philosophical level.
“The design of the program and the synchronous online format were perfect for me as a full-time working parent living on the other side of the state,” said Hall. “I know that I was in the right place when working with my doctoral cohort.”
As a first-generation college student, Hall has “had to feel my way through educational programs, not always having the confidence that what I was doing was the ‘right’ way to do it.”
“The doctoral faculty has been nothing but highly supportive throughout my doctoral journey, and this award is a crowning element of validation that I did, indeed, meet not only my goals in the program but the mission and vision of the doctoral faculty and the university itself,” she added.
She plans to continue to grow initiatives in her current role and explore opportunities to work with learners of all ages.
“It’s an exciting time!”
Cratis Inductees
