2015-2016 Scholars

Hello, my name is Anum Khan and I am so excited to be a QUIERE Scholar for the 2015-2016 academic year! I was born in Pakistan, but I have lived in Jersey City, NJ for the majority of my life. I graduated with a B.A. from Saint Peter's University and during my time at Saint Peter's University I double majored in Elementary Education and Art History. I have previously worked for the Bricks 4 Kidz and Young Rembrandts after school programs, which is where I realized I wanted to pursue a career in early childhood education. I look forward to being a part of the QUIERE team this year!

Hello, my name is LA Keenya Joyner. I am honored to be completing my second year as a QUIERE Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University. Marian Wright Edelman once stated, "Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it". This quote holds a special place in my heart, at an early age I learned that education was an essential tool in transforming many students lives. Currently, I am student teaching at a public school inside of a 1st grade NEST classroom. Post graduation, I plan to teach students from underserved communities as well as students with disabilities. I believe all children are capable of greatness; every child deserves a quality education. As a QUIERE Scholar, I know I am being enriched with knowledge and skills which will prepare me to endure a lifetime commitment to improving the quality of education for students. Teaching is an extremely rewarding career, and I am ready to embark on a journey that will have a huge impact on the lives of many young learners.

My name is Nicole McIntyre and I earned my Bachelors Degree in Psychology at Queens College. I am currently in my last semester at Teachers College pursuing my Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a dual certification in Special Education. My career goals involve becoming a head teacher; and my personal goals include developing my philosophy statement as a teacher. As a teacher we wear many hats (e.g. caregiver, leader, time keeper, and etc.) I aim to have a better understanding of when and where to exercise my role. Coming toward the end of my Teachers College experience, I had the privilege to not only be placed in a general education classroom, but also in a self-contained, as well as inclusive classroom. Overall, I want to flourish with my students, learn their individual needs, teach them to be resilient, and learn from their failures as well as success. Above all, I hope to understand my many roles as a teacher, in order to better help my students.

Hi, everyone! My name is Linly Dai and I’m an extremely honored to have been chosen to be a QUIERE scholar. I am currently enrolled in TC’s Dual Certification: Early childhood and Special-Ed. Fall 2016,  I am placed at Bloomingdale Family Center, in a Pre-K/Head Start room, where I am focusing my teacher research question on: “How can I support children to work collaboratively in an authentic way?” My prior placements include working in a general education kindergarten classroom, an inclusive classroom (3-5-year-olds), and working with toddlers (2-year-olds). In addition to the perspectives I have gained access to, I hope to continue to see through the various lenses and find ways to implement a curriculum that is meaningful to children.

Hello, my name is Stephanie Harvell, and I am honored to be a member of the 4th and final QUIERE Scholar Cohort. Before attending Teachers College, I graduated from Hampton University (an HBCU) with a B.S. in Marketing. Although my degree is in business, part of me always knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I applied to QUIERE because I believe that all children, regardless of ethnicity, race, disabilities, and socio-economic status, should have access to an equitable education, and I believe that the program will help me acquire the skills needed to provide them with one in a diverse and inclusive setting. I’ve had the opportunity to both travel and live abroad, which has allowed me to learn about and interact with people of many different cultures. My experiences taught me that we should celebrate and embrace diversity instead of fearing it, which is something I hope to bring into my classroom. It is a goal of mine to work with either pre-k or kindergarten students in a public school setting or potentially becoming a SEIT. During my spare time I like to eat, read, travel, and explore!

My name is Mercedes Alicea, and I am currently in the Early Childhood Special Education Dual Certification program at Teacher's College. I am extremely passionate about quality inclusive and multicultural education, particularly for students of color in early childhood settings. I have worked with a variety of students from Pre-K to grade 8; I am currently working in a Pre-K 4 inclusive classroom of twenty students as an assistant teacher. I am aiming to combine my work experience with my academic opportunities to provide the best education possible for my current and future students.

Hello, my name is Chelsea Marshall. I am from Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated from The University of Utah with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology. I am excited to be a QUIERE Scholar and interact with many different groups of people. I hope to make a difference in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education by creating a classroom where diversity is valued. My career goals involve working as a lead teacher an infant and toddler room or a preschool. I hope to learn as much from my students as my students learn from me.

I am so grateful to have been given this amazing opportunity to be a QUIERE scholar! I attended the University of Hartford for my bachelors degree in psychology, and during my time as an undergraduate I spent time observing and helping in childhood education systems in India, the Dominican Republic, and foster youth in the United States. After I graduated, I worked for two years in preschool systems in and around Boston, MA. I hope that as a QUIERE scholar I can share the importance of diversity and inclusivity in early childhood education. In my free time I love to sing. I grew up as a theater kid, and studied classical voice/opera at the Juilliard School pre-college and sang a principal role at New York City Opera when I was 17 years old. I hope to find ways of bringing music into the classroom!

Hello, my name is Sylvia Lee and I am very honored to be chosen as a QUIERE Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University. I am from Canada and obtained my Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University. Growing up, I have always had a passion for teaching and working with diverse groups of children in inclusive settings. My goal in becoming an educator is to learn and adapt the ways that teachers can deliver an equitable and high quality early childhood education for every child. I truly believe that the QUIERE Project will be a great opportunity for me to achieve this goal and build more competence to practice inclusive education.

Hello, I am Alejandra Chavez. I am currently in a dual language second grade classroom as well as in a toddler classroom. As a result of both of these experiences, my academic interests have turn towards curriculum development and language acquisition. These two areas have become a focus as I try to better my teaching in order to include all my students interest and knowledge into the classroom. Previously, I have worked in a dual language Kindergarten classroom as well as other early childhood setting. What all these experiences have taught me is that gaining knowledge never stops. In such, professionally I plan to continue my education endlessly.