As education scholars prepare for Convocation on May 20 and 21, they will embark on the next step of their lives, from continuing in higher education to making a difference through research or in the classroom. We sat down with a handful of graduates to learn about their motivations, how they impact their communities and what’s next.
Meet Julio Intriago-Izquierdo (M.A. ’25, Instructional Technology and Media)
Hometown: Guayaquil, Ecuador
How He Makes an Impact: Intriago’s multimodal scholarship focuses on creating “transformative learning experiences that amplify youth voices and equip communities with tools to design meaningful change,” he says. Prior to TC, Intriago co-founded Diseña Futuro, an education non-profit that has prepared more than 2,500 K-12 teachers in Ecuador to guide students design solutions to community issues, reaching approximately 30,000 students since 2019
While at TC, Intriago not only led the development of ConnectInk, an AI-powered app that provides high-quality feedback on student writing, he also empowered East Harlem high school students to get involved in meaningful research about challenges in their communities through the Civically Engaged Districts project. As a part of his commitment to provide people with tools to make positive change, Intriago co-founded the startup Rightful Hire, which connects mothers in temporary housing to employers in the U.S. The initiative recently won the prestigious Helen Gurley Brown Foundation Prize, which awards grants to Columbia University startup founders whose projects benefit women and girls.
What Matters: Making sure that students and educators are empowered to improve their communities. To achieve this goal, Intriago is deeply committed to designing responsive educational programs, work he has been doing since age 19. “I’ve always been drawn to the places where creativity meets purpose, and where people come together to design better possibilities,” he says. “That’s what inspired me to pursue this field: to create learning environments rooted in agency, dignity and hope.”
What’s Next: Intriago will continue developing tools that support teachers and students. He also plans to pursue a Ph.D. in the future.
Meet Alphani Putri, Tjia (M.A. ’25, International Educational Development)
Hometown: Bandung, Indonesia
How She Makes an Impact: Putri has been seeking ways to help improve access to education since she was preparing to attend college amid cost barriers. Putri later founded OurhomeIndonesia, a grassroots organization that teaches social-emotional learning (SEL) to Indonesian children in poverty or who are not able to continue their schooling. “I want to make education accessible to everyone, even those who don’t have a roof [over their heads],” says Putri. “[SEL] is what they need. They need to know about themselves, about others, and how they can navigate life even without privileges.”
While at TC, Putri made connections with the broader College community through her job in the Media Services office, and built her leadership skills as a research assistant for Brian Perkins, Associate Professor of Practice in Education Leadership.
What Matters: Promoting economic opportunity and educational access for all. Putri’s parents had two very different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds, and from a young age she saw the relationship between access to wealth and access to schooling. Finding a way to address this inequity is a driving force for Putri’s scholarship. “How to end poverty has been the underlying question that led me to Teachers College,” she says.
What’s Next: Putri will continue her work with Brian Perkins and OurhomeIndonesia.
Meet Shola K. Roberts (Ed.D. ’25, Dance Education)
Hometown: St. David, Grenada and Brooklyn, N.Y.
How She Makes an Impact: Roberts’ scholarship centers on preserving dance traditions from her communities. “We sustain and maintain a community through these embodied languages and contexts,” she says. As a part of this mission, in 2020, Roberts founded Dance Grenada Inc., an international dance festival that focuses on diasporic African and indigenous Grenadian dance forms and features workshops, performances and panel discussions. “My hope is to bring attention to the offerings of Grenada, but also showcase the many dance forms that exist within the world and how it can contribute to who we are as citizens of this global community,” Roberts explains.
What Matters: Uplifting her community and the principle of Ubuntu, which means humanity to others. “One of the grounding theories inside my research is [that] I exist because there were people that came before me…[and] people that are coming up after me,” explains Roberts. She applies this worldview to her scholarship and work as a dance educator as well as in her personal life and approach to parenting.
What’s Next: In addition to her appointment as Assistant Professor at Arizona State University School of Music, Dance and Theatre, Roberts plans to nourish and spend time with her 8-month-old son and continue “to create communities where folks feel a sense of belonging, joy and empowerment.”
Meet Alex Roman (M.A. ’25, Education Policy)
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
How He Makes an Impact: Working with young children as an assistant teacher at the Hollingworth Center. Growing up with a teacher for a mom and seeing firsthand the profound impact teachers have on their students led Roman to pursue early childhood education. In addition to his work as an early childhood educator, Roman pursues his interest in policy development as a TC Senator and through his role with the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia Law School, where he engages with K-12 students. “I know and love the impact that I have made in the classroom, but I recognize that there are also bigger issues where a teacher can only do so much and I'm very interested in those issues,” he says of his motivation to pursue policy work.
What Matters: Expanding access to education and serving as inspiration to his community. “My mom was the only person in my family to ever receive a college diploma and when [she] got that, we saw the doors that opened up for us,” says Roman. “[But] you have to really fight for those opportunities.”
The connections he’s made with his peers at TC and students also keep Roman motivated to continue on. “I've met people from many different walks of life and making those relationships have probably been what I've been most proud of over the last couple years.”
What’s Next: Roman will continue working with CPRL as a summer associate and he plans to apply for law school.
Meet Abigail Seevak, (M.A. ’25, Early Childhood Education)
Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif.
How She Makes an Impact: A recipient of the Genishi Family Scholarship, E. Zimmerman Lynch Scholarship and the Teachers’ Future Award, Seevak is a dedicated early childhood educator with a passion for children’s media. She’s currently a full-time kindergarten associate teacher at Bank Street School for Children. “Through my work as a teacher, I strive to truly listen to young children.” Says Seevak. “Rather than simply value children for who they will become, I aim to celebrate and cherish who they are in the present.”
In addition to her work as a teacher, Seevak is a media project assistant for Haeny Yoon, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, and spent the past year supporting curriculum development for a children’s TV director. “I hope to help inspire and infuse the storytelling of TV with knowledge and research about early learning,” she says.
What Matters: Inclusive education and the critical role of public schools in ensuring equitable access. It was Seevak’s desire to “[make] learning accessible and supportive to children of all backgrounds and abilities” that drove her to pursue a dual certification in Early Childhood General Education and Special Education. Formerly a developmental psychology student, Seevak appreciates the dynamic nature of classroom teaching. “My students and I are constantly teaching and learning from one another,” she says.
What’s Next: Seevak will be moving back to the Bay Area to continue her career as a kindergarten teacher.