Lander University’s College of Education honored students and their achievements during this year’s pinning and academic award ceremony held December 12, at the Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium.
“The students we recognize today have faced challenges that none of us could have imagined,” Dr. Sarah Hunt-Barron, dean of the College of Education, told the students and guests assembled for the awards program.
“They navigated a new way of going to school and explored an evolving landscape, testing new approaches to teaching and learning alongside their peers and professors. We learned much from these experiences; some of the successful innovations that emerged have the potential to change the way we educate all students; some of the other innovations proved to be what I like call learning opportunities.”
Dr. Barron said the challenges have uniquely prepared the students for their professional lives. “These graduates have taught themselves how to use new technological tools – in some cases virtually overnight out of necessity. Our teacher education students have forged new approaches for reaching students, and every person on this stage has been part of the reinvention of what it means to be part of a learning community. In short, they have been well-prepared for their ever-changing professional lives.”
Each student received a gold pin to acknowledge the earning of their respective baccalaureate degrees and the beginning of their lives as professionals in their respective fields. Degrees included Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; English, Secondary Certification; Physical Education, P-12 Certification; Exercise Science; and M.Ed. Teaching and Learning.