{"id":107232,"date":"2015-06-09T10:11:54","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T14:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=107232"},"modified":"2015-07-14T09:09:28","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T13:09:28","slug":"singer-awards-recognize-those-that-changed-the-lives-of-four-university-graduates-107232","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/singer-awards-recognize-those-that-changed-the-lives-of-four-university-graduates-107232\/","title":{"rendered":"Singer Awards recognize those who changed lives of four UR graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Singer Prizes are a University tradition at Commencement time to honor the high school teachers or staff members who have had a profound impact on a graduate\u2019s education and growth. This year, Callie Andler, Greg Beckman, Heather Buskirk and Michelle Hill were recognized with the 2015 Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary Teaching<\/a>, for their significant influence on Rochester\u2019s newest alumni.<\/p>\n

Each year, seniors in the College are invited to nominate a high school teacher for consideration for the Singer Family Prize. The four award winners receive a plaque and $3,000, as well as $2,500 for their school. Singer Prize recipients are also invited to the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½\u2019s commencement ceremony\u2014this year on Sunday, May 17\u2014to watch their former students graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Paul Singer Family Foundation feels strongly that while devoted secondary school teachers play a vital role in the intellectual development of American society, they often receive little recognition or acclaim for their endeavors,\u201d said Gordon Singer, son of Paul Singer \u201966, who endowed the prize.<\/p>\n

Callie Andler, School Counselor, Charlotte High School, Rochester <\/strong><\/p>\n

Callie Andler was nominated by graduating senior Tanya May for her courage, fearlessness, support, and compassion.<\/p>\n

May, who recently earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology from Arts & Sciences, said that Andler \u201ccares for more than just her paycheck. She cares for more than just academics. She cares for the student, their life, and their future.\u201d<\/p>\n

May\u2019s nomination letter goes on to say that Andler understands that students may come from economic hardship and see many difficult things in their environment, and that regardless of what she has to do, she makes time to talk to her students and keeps up with the happenings of their lives. Andler also pushes her students to their maximum potential\u2014encouragement is one of her strongest points.<\/p>\n

Andler\u2019s compassion and genuine care continue well after the students leave high school. Whether the student chooses college or not, she keeps in touch with students and checks in to see how they are.<\/p>\n

Greg Beckman, AP Literature teacher, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, Calif.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greg Beckman was nominated by graduating senior Lilly Camp. In her nomination letter, Camp writes that she \u201chad anticipated his class for years, despite my distaste for English.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camp, who graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and political science from Arts & Sciences, says that Beckman changed her life and challenged each student in different ways. She says \u201csome days left me questioning my in-class convictions; some changed the way I thought about the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we read James Joyce\u2019s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man<\/em>, we discussed personality extremes and the way we move between them like a pendulum. Beckman raised the question of why we define property when we read Dostoevsky\u2019s Crime and Punishment.<\/em> We debated about what love looks like over Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez\u2019s Love in the Time of Cholera.<\/em> Terms like narrative gating and alliteration got lost in deep conversations about Shakespeare\u2019s sonnets, T.S. Eliot, and, in early spring, roundabout debates about leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camp notes that Beckman \u201cchallenged us to get away from Los Angeles and experience the world.\u201d She notes that \u201cFour years later, I am starting my senior honors thesis as a creative writing major, I am out and proud of my sexuality, and I am living nearly 3,000 miles away from L.A. I have Greg Beckman to thank, and my story is unique, but it is far from the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heather Buskirk, physics and science teacher, Johnstown High School, Johnstown N.Y.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heather Buskirk was nominated by graduating senior Sandra Westover. \u201cA.P. Physics with Heather Buskirk was my first taste of what my journey to becoming an engineer would be like,\u201d said Westover, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in optical engineering from the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.<\/p>\n

Westover says Buskirk\u2019s true inspiration is how she makes physics accessible to every student. Along with teaching A.P. Physics and New York State Regents Physics, Buskirk developed two other programs: a conceptual physics class, where physics was taught in a less mathematically rigorous manner; and The Learning Project, an interdisciplinary project-based program for seniors. The Learning Project allows students who get lost in the standard high school setting to realize their full potential by solving real world problems in a hands-on manner.\u00a0 Through these programs, Buskirk has sparked a fire in students that have led to them pursuing ambitions they before thought impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dove head first into the physics material, sometimes getting deeply over my head,\u201d said Westover. \u201cYet, whether it was about class material, material I\u2019d seen in an online lecture, or something I had read, Buskirk was always willing to field my multitude of questions.\u00a0 She took her own time after class and during lunch to explain material beyond the scope of the class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle Hill, math teacher, Hamburg High School, Hamburg, N.Y.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Graduating senior Bonnie Ball nominated Michelle Hill for the Singer Award. Ball says Michelle and her husband, Derek Hill, who also teaches math at Hamburg High School, were both great influences to her and many other students whom they taught.<\/p>\n

The Hills greatly strengthened the Advanced Placement department and allowed students who were in general math courses to still take AP classes although they had not been in accelerated math courses starting in eighth grade. They set up a summer session to allow these students, like Ball, to learn pre-calculus and be prepared for AP Calculus AB. \u201cWithout this program, we would not have been provided the opportunity to reach the AP Calculus level because of our 8th grade mathematics placing. The Hills were not reimbursed for this summer session that they held, nor were they reimbursed for the \u201cGood Morning Math\u201d sessions they held at 7 a.m., two times a week leading up to the AP Calculus exam.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween Mr. Hill\u2019s AP Calculus BC and Mrs. Hill\u2019s AP Calculus AB, we had the highest scoring classes on the AP exam in the state. The majority of us received a score of a 5, the highest score, and the remainder received 4\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ball recently earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in health policy from Arts & Sciences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, seniors in the College are invited to nominate a high school teacher for consideration for the Singer Family Prize. 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