Commencement

It’s hard to believe that there was a time when Shireen Al-Adeimi, Ed.D.’18, wasn’t sure about education research as a career. In fact, she hadn’t even intended to apply to HGSE, but thanks to a push from her adviser at the University of…

Stephanie Downey Toledo, Ed.L.D.'18, is always on the go — for work and with family.During a rare down moment traveling to a family wedding with her parents, three children, and husband in tow, Toledo chatted about life post-HGSE: "It was such…

At Jordy Sparks’ high school in Springfield, Ohio, there were two counselors for all graduating seniors — one worked with those heading to college, and the other with those heading to the workforce.As with all the seniors, the counselors alone…

Research has shown that it’s important for parents to be involved in their children’s education. But what happens when a parent is undocumented, when they worry that their own immigration status will affect their child’s chances at going to…

Music rang out across Radcliffe Yard today as Dean James Ryan addressed the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s graduating class with what has become his signature homage to educators.“I believe you are the luckiest graduates of the entire…

Watch Dean Ryan's full speech.Welcome graduates, colleagues, family and friends. Congratulations to you all.I’d like to begin by thanking all of the families and friends in the audience today. Each year, I am amazed to hear your stories and to…

Watch video of the 2018 Convocation ceremony below:As the Harvard Graduate School of Education honored the Class of 2018 at a picture-perfect Convocation ceremony, degree candidates were urged to envision a future where the ideal school can become…

Thank you, Dean Ryan…thank you for making HGSE stronger and better!One can have no sweeter legacy than that!Congratulations to Alumnus Douglas Wood!  Thank you for all of your good work!And welcome Dean Bridget Terry Long!  She will be…

Welcome students, families, friends, and colleagues to this afternoon’s convocation. I’d like to take this moment to express my deepest gratitude to the students for electing me this year’s faculty speaker: I am truly honored by this…

They sat in a half-circle that spanned out towards the back of the classroom, each inmate garbed in the classic jail two-piece: the stiff khaki pants, and the beige top that fountained over some of their thin upper bodies. It was a cold, cold…

At the Harvard Graduate School of Education Convocation Exercises on May 23, Senior Lecturer Elizabeth City, faculty director of the Doctor of Education Leadership Program, was presented with the Morningstar Family Teaching Award. The award…

Photos by Jill Anderson, Casey Bayer, and Michael RodmanAdditional photos provided by PACE (Pan-Asian Coalition for Education) and Kay Merseth

Bene Webster proudly describes herself as a former “nut” — a quality that she always found helpful when dealing with some of the behavior problems in her third-grade classroom in New Orleans.“When I was teaching … it was common to hear…

Douglas Wood, Ed.M.’96, Ed.D.’00, is the 2018 recipient of the Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education. Wood is currently a senior fellow on justice and equity at the Aspen Institute. Prior, he was a program officer for…

As an educator and an activist, one of Shantá Harrington’s main goals is to challenge prevailing notions of what it means to educate Black youth — and she hopes to pass that drive on to her students.“I want to dedicate my work to thinking…

As a young girl from Queens, Natasha Daniella Rivera participation in programs run by Prep for Prep — a leadership development organization for gifted students of color in New York City public schools — opened doors to many opportunities…

After two years working in Korea for the Fulbright Korea Commission — first as a teacher, then as a program coordinator for the English Teaching Assistant program — coming to Cambridge felt like something of a homecoming to Esther Hwi-Young Kim,…

While a master’s student in environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Dantrell Cotton found himself heading down a new path. He was working in the Posse Office as an academic adviser and STEM mentor when he discovered a new…

As a musician, Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas enrolled in the Ed School's Arts in Education Program to build her theoretical foundation as an educator and to focus on how music can be used effectively in community programming and student…

When Rachel Hantman entered the Ed School last August she was nervous. Some things, like worrying about which classes she would take, would resolve themselves early. But others would take a little more time.“I feared feeling inexperienced next to…

As the saying goes, “When you educate a girl, you educate a nation.” And, this notion is at the core of Tamesha Webb’s mission as an educator: to change the school experience for young girls in the United States, particularly girls of color.As…

In coming to the Ed School, Salt River Pima, Laguna Pueblo, and Thai educator Morgan Barraza had one thing in mind: becoming a more effective teacher for her students — present and future. Teaching English for the three years on the Laguna Pueblo…

After teaching in Washington, D.C. public schools, Jabari Sellars arrived at HGSE seeking new strategies to increase literacy skills among underserved students, particularly adolescents. But as his year in the Language and Literacy (L&L) Program…

It may not be the most obvious fit, but there is plenty of room for teaching social justice in STEM, says Melissa Mooradian. In fact, she spent her year in the Teacher Education Program (TEP) exploring ways to incorporate these lessons into her own…

Ranya Brooks has long felt a “moral imperative” to apply her privilege to making the world a better place. She enrolled in the International Education Policy (IEP) Program to learn how she could make a difference in refugee education, and now is…

For Stewart Jones, enrolling at the Ed School’s Technology, Innovation, and Education (TIE) Program was an opportunity to learn all that she possibly could about the ways technology is used in education. But the lessons that she is leaving with…

The honorees were nominated by their classmates based on who inspired them, impressed them, helped them gain a different perspective on the structures challenging education today, and created a climate that allowed for shared learning and…

Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean James E. Ryan is pleased to announce that John Silvanus Wilson Jr., Ed.M.’82, Ed.D.’85, senior adviser and strategist to the president at Harvard University, will address the graduating class and their…