11 TCNJ students selected by Teach for America

Teach for America has selected 11 TCNJ students to join its ranks, giving these students a valuable opportunity to help narrow the national achievement gap.

Words by TCNJ's editorial staff

From left to right: Solebo, Nolan, Lopez, Zourzoukis, Forero, Avila, Richard, Stefaniak, and Dwyer. Not pictured: Shariatdoust and Veenstra

Teach for America has selected 11 TCNJ students to join its ranks, giving these students a valuable opportunity to help narrow the national achievement gap.

Seniors Katherine Avila, Corey Dwyer, Melissa Forero, Linda Lopez, Alison Nolan, Jillian Richard, Rana Shariatdoust, Olaniyi Solebo, Rebecca Stefaniak, Randi Lynn Veenstra, and Annie Zourzoukis have all been accepted into the TFA Class of 2012. With the exception of Veenstra, who declined the offer because she will be attending law school in the fall, all of the accepted students will begin training for their contractual two-year placement this summer.

According to Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Benjamin Rifkin, the students’ accomplishment is a reflection of the College’s academic stature.

“Teach for America is a very competitive program: the selection of so many of our students in this year’s competition speaks volumes about the preparation they have had here ― in the classroom, on the campus, and in the community ― and reflects our campus’s core belief in the importance of promoting the development of the whole student,” he wrote in an email.

TCNJ’s students will be aiding TFA with several of the “priority” subjects emphasized on the organization’s website, including math, science, and Spanish/bilingual education.

• Avila, international studies major, will teach secondary Spanish in Washington D.C.
• Dwyer, political science major, will teach secondary general science in Philadelphia, PA.
• Forero, political science major, will teach secondary Spanish in Detroit, MI.
• Lopez, sociology major, will teach secondary math in Phoenix, AZ.
• Nolan, sociology major, will teach secondary math in Eastern North Carolina.
• Richard, history major, will teach general science in the Greater New Orleans Region.
• Shariatdoust, political science major, will be teaching secondary math in Philadelphia.
• Solebo, political science major, will teach secondary-level (middle or high school) Social Studies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Stefaniak, history major, will teach secondary general science in Miami, Florida.
• Zourzoukis, secondary education and English double major, will teach secondary English in Philadelphia.