The Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) is delighted to welcome 14 new teacher candidates! We celebrated their induction on Friday, February 7th, 2025, at Higgins House. The new candidates received valuable information about the program and learned that early advising is the key to success in our state licensure program. The event was marked by a candle ceremony, pizza, and cake, celebrating their acceptance into the program.
During the candle ceremony, faculty and staff of the STEM Education Center, along with juniors and seniors in our teaching pipeline, spoke about the vital role of teachers in "sparking" curiosity and ensuring equitable access to STEM education. A notable moment from the ceremony included: "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle, and just for a brief moment at the point of ignition there is a passing of energy, a connection. Teaching is like this, the ignition of a flame. Our work is of the utmost importance; we connect with our learners to help their candle to burn that much brighter."
Our program currently includes 28 undergraduate students pursuing Massachusetts state teacher licensure at the secondary level (grades 5-12) in a STEM field alongside their undergraduate degree. This C-term, nine more interested students have been invited to apply to fill available slots in our program. We look forward to reviewing their submissions!
Welcome to the TPP! Our program’s new inductees.
(back row L-R) Camryn Herrick '28 Chem Eng, Milan DeNicola '28 Robotics, Cameron Hobbs '27 Robotics, Martin Kalo '27 CS, Cole Solomon '28 Mech Eng, Ryan Shi '28 ECE, Anthony Galvez '28 Chem.
(front row L-R) Brooke Adams '27 Physics, Connor Sengaloun '27 Physics, Zoey Witnauer '27 Physics, Arianna Hernandez '28 Math, Isabella Foresto '28 ECE.
(missing from photo) Michael Nixdorf '25, Applied Physics, Grace Ho '27 Math.
The full “pipeline to teaching” our Teacher Prep program participants at Higgins House.
(back row, L-R) Jacob Kinkead '26 Physics, Wilson Gramer '26 CS, Milan DeNicola '28 Robotics, Cameron Hobbs '28 Robotics, Martin Kalo '27 CS, Cole Solomon '28 Mech Eng, Ryan Shi '28 ECE, Anthony Galvez '28 Chem, Vaansh Mansharamani '26 CS, Lucas Dion '26 Robotics, Demetrios Kennedy '25 Chem.
(front row, L-R) Allison Morin '25 Chem, Camryn Herrick '28 Chem Eng, Brooke Adams '27 Physics, Connor Sengaloun '27 Physics, Zoey Witnauer '27 Physics, Arianna Hernandez '28 Math, Isabella Foresto '28 ECE, Alex Deleage '27 Robotics.
(missing from photo): Michael Nixdorf '25 Applied Physics, Grace Ho '27 Math, Christian Rua '25 CS, Genesis Bernabel '25 ECE, Jesse Drozd '26 Chem, Sarah Roberge '26 BioMed Eng, Taras Pylypenko '25 CS, Samantha Simmons '26 Mgmt Info Systems, Evelyn Hubbard '27 Math.