From Connecticut to Kenya: Sport Management Student Inspires Positivity

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Khalil Griffith in Kenya with high school basketball team
Sport management graduate student Khalil Griffith visited communities in Kenya this past semester, including the Paul Boit Boys High School, whose students later named the school basketball court after Griffith. (Photo courtesy of Khalil Griffith)

Editor’s Note: The following piece, compiled by UConn student Maggie McEvilly in conversations with graduate student Khalil Griffith, originally appeared on the Department of Educational Leadership’s sport management program website.

Khalil Griffith is a first-year master’s degree student in the Neag School’s sport management program.  This past month, Griffith traveled to Kenya for the second time, having visited previously in the summer of 2016. During this most recent trip, Griffith conducted workshops to promote healthy masculinity in villages throughout Kibera, a neighborhood in the city of Nairobi, and worked to implement positive youth curriculums in communities with the organization A Call to Men. Here, he shares his experiences from both trips, and how his ventures changed not only the lives of others, but his own as well.

I set out on this trip for two main reasons: to enhance my life experiences through sport and to promote healthy masculinity, while also helping to end violence against women.

When I traveled to Kenya last June, I laid the groundwork for a student exchange program that uses sport as a tool to provide cultural exchanges between students in Kenya and students in the U.S. During this most recent trip, I not only continued to build that foundation, but I also hosted various basketball camps and clinics in numerous villages and schools throughout the country.

During my time in Kenya, I also conducted workshops focused on promoting healthy masculinity in multiple villages in Kibera, one of the world’s largest slums. Last year, the organization A Call to Men developed a curriculum for children ages 6 to 12 to teach this guiding principle [of embracing and promoting a healthy, respectful manhood]. While in Kibera, I worked with other colleagues to train members of the community about how they can implement this important curriculum in their communities.

Khalil Griffith visits with students in Kenya
During his recent trip to Kenya, Griffith conducted workshops to promote healthy masculinity in villages throughout Kibera, a neighborhood in Nairobi, and implemented positive youth curriculums into communities with the nonprofit A Call to Men.

One of the most memorable moments of my trip was my visit to a women’s maximum-security prison. I was amazed by how different the structure was from a typical penitentiary in the U.S. This prison had a very restorative focus compared to the more punitive atmosphere that we often see in prisons in the United States. I had never seen women so empowered by the justice system before. Many of them admire and respect the guards as they would their own mothers. There were also various programs in place at the prison, such as yoga, and we were even able to bring jump ropes inside to the women during our visit. It was truly inspiring to hear about the growth that these women have made during their time in jail, and furthermore to see the joy in their faces when they participated in such programs in a positive environment.

As I mentioned previously, during the summer of 2016, I was granted the opportunity to travel to Kenya to lay the groundwork for sports programming — basketball, specifically. While I was an undergraduate student at Ithaca College, I conducted research that delved into accessibility in youth sport with relation to socioeconomic status. This research, in conjunction with my experience in coaching basketball and youth sports programming, is what truly inspired me to make this trip across the world.

Though I had originally decided to travel to Kenya to further my research and conduct clinics, I left having participated in an experience that would change not only my life, but also the lives of many others around the world.

Though I had originally decided to travel to Kenya to further my research and conduct clinics, I left having participated in an experience that would change not only my life, but also the lives of many others around the world.

While in Kenya, I traveled around the country and visited schools, interacting and playing with kids ranging from ages 3 to 19. One of the most memorable experiences that I had was when I spoke to students at Paul Boit Boys High School, an all-boys’ school in Eldoret. There, I discussed with 500 young men the impact that sports has had, and continues to have, on my life, as well as the opportunities that basketball has given me. After the talk, I was then able to interact with some of the young men and engage in activities with them. While that was a truly humbling experience, it was what happened next that had the lasting impact on me.

After meeting with the school principal and other members of the community, they informed me that they had graciously decided to name their basketball court after me. The court was in much need of a renovation, consisting of uneven gravel, crooked basketball hoops, and damaged soccer balls that substituted as basketballs. But over the last few months, we have come together to develop a project that will not only completely renovate the court, but will also establish programming for the local youth. In doing so, we will foster a sports exchange program with children in Kenya and in the United States that will allow for a cross-cultural exchange for students all over the world, offering programming to students who otherwise may not have been granted that opportunity.

View this story as it originally appeared on the sport management website. Learn more about the Neag School’s sport management program at sport.education.uconn.edu. 

Where Are They Now? Catching Up With Alum Louis Cameron ’16 MA

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Editor’s Note: This story, written by educational leadership program coordinator Carissa Rutkaukas, originally appeared on the Neag School’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program website.

Louis Cameron
Louis Cameron III ’16 MA, alum of the Neag School’s Higher Education and Student Affairs program, now serves as a resident director at Boston College. (Photo courtesy of Louis Cameron)

Louis Cameron III ’16 MA, an alum of the Neag School’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program, is no stranger to exploring new communities. Born in Würzburg, Germany, and having lived in or visited Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Boston, New York City, San Antonio, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Cameron is a self-declared extrovert who identifies himself as a Black man who has worked at and attended predominantly White institutions. He says he believes that equity-minded policies, practices, and programs for people with marginalized identities are essential, both inside and out of institutions of higher education.

After graduating from East Carolina University, in Greenville, N.C. in 2013, the HESA program in the Department of Educational Leadership at UConn’s Neag School was Cameron’s next stop. He describes his two years in the HESA program as the most formative years of his life. “I love everything about UConn,” he says. Cameron says he misses graduate school and the learning perspective it affords, where he says his cohort offered him opportunities to reflect on his assistantship, practicum, and readings with like-minded individuals.

Today, Louis Cameron III ’16 MA serves as a resident director for 310 first-year residents on the Newton campus of Boston College and supervises a team of 15 individuals, including 12 resident assistants.

Now the resident director (RD) for 310 first-year residents of Hardey and Cushing Houses on the Newton campus of Boston College, Cameron supervises a team of 12 resident assistants (RAs), one graduate staff assistant, one programming graduate assistant, and one graduate minister. In this position, his priority is to assist residents transitioning into the college environment, which is a great fit, as Cameron is energized by working with first-year students. Recently, he completed training his RAs, with a focus on rejuvenating his staff, and is looking forward to the RA selection process. At Boston College, the RDs change residences each year, so Cameron says he is excited about interviewing and selecting strong staff who will remain at Hardey and Cushing Houses in the coming year, carrying on his vision even after he moves on.

While he enjoys the challenges of working in an environment different from his UConn experience, Cameron says he knows he will not remain in residential life forever, even though he was an RA as an undergraduate student. When Cameron accepted his position, he says he had in mind a piece of advice given to him as a first-year HESA student by a then second-year HESA student: Your first position out of graduate school does not have to be your dream job or your forever job; think about the benefits and opportunities for growth it can provide you.

Louis Cameron ’16 (MA) and family
Cameron, second from left, celebrates with family from Massachusetts and Virginia during his 2016 UConn HESA Hooding Ceremony in Storrs. (Photo courtesy of Louis Cameron)

As an RD at Boston College, Cameron says he sees an opportunity to work somewhere that provides housing, and where he can gain experience supervising a staff, training undergraduate students, overseeing a community, and facilitating conduct hearings. It is a generalist position at an institution that is different from his HESA experience at a large, public, flagship research institution. Boston College is a private, smaller, conservative Jesuit institution, with a much different student population, especially in terms of race and class.

Cameron’s time at Boston College is providing him with unique experiences, he says, which include serving in an on-call duty rotation, furthering his passion area through the department’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee, and working with a diverse group of students, as well as colleagues that have a variety of professional competencies.

Looking forward, this RD sees his future intersecting four competencies: student conduct; ethics and morality; equity, social justice, and inclusion; and assessment, evaluation and research. Such competencies were, he says, strongly emphasized by his HESA faculty at UConn, including Cathy Cocks, director of community standards at UConn, and Milagros Castillo-Montoya, assistant professor and interim director of HESA.

“Cathy is a friend and mentor and inspires me in my understanding of student conduct and ethical fitness,” Cameron says. “And thanks to Milagros, I know more about equity-mindedness, and I am now obsessed with assessment — going into HESA, I did not like research or assessment, but now I’m a huge Qualtrics fan.”

Only time will tell which college or university Cameron will call home in the future, but for now, he is settling into his role at Boston College as a professional, after 20 years of being a student. He says he is using this opportunity to work on his self-reflection as a practitioner, and to discover how to adapt his learning and developing for a nonacademic role. Cameron says he is also looking forward to auditing a course on higher education public policy to expand his knowledge. You might even see him on campus in May for the HESA graduation ceremonies.

View this story as it originally appeared on the Higher Education and Student Affairs website. Learn more about the Neag School’s HESA program at hesa.uconn.edu. 

Neag School Celebrates 2017 Alumni Awardees

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Members of the Neag School of Education Alumni Board, along with Neag School faculty, staff, and administrators; friends of the university; and guests, gathered this past Saturday on the UConn Storrs campus for the 19th Annual Alumni Awards Celebration. This year’s sold-out event honored six outstanding Neag School graduates in a number of award categories.

“Our 2017 Alumni Award recipients serve as such remarkable examples of accomplishment and commitment across the field of education,” says Dean Gladis Kersaint. “Each of these individuals exemplifies strong leadership, collegiality, and service to others. It is an honor for us to recognize them in this way before their colleagues, family, friends, and supporters.” View photos from the event on our Facebook page.

Outstanding School Educator

Shamim S. Patwa ’97 MA, ’00 6th Year, ’03 Ph.D. — School psychologist at Goodwin Elementary School, Mansfield (Conn.), and adjunct professor, the Department of Educational Psychology at the Neag School

Shamim S. Patwa — NEAG-Awards-2017-selects-21 webShamim S. Patwa earned three degrees in school psychology from UConn’s Neag School of Education, including a master of arts in 1997, a Sixth Year Diploma in 2000, and a Ph.D. in 2003. Prior to this, she earned a bachelor of arts degree from Smith College, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado, and an administrator certification from Sacred Heart University.

Patwa began as an assistant professor-in-residence at UConn in 2012 in the Neag School’s Department of Educational Psychology, becoming an adjunct professor within the same department in 2013. As adjunct professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Patwa taught seminars for doctoral- and master’s-level school psychology students and participated on dissertation committees.

In 2013, she was appointed school psychologist at Goodwin Elementary School, where she participates in group and individual counseling sessions with an emphasis on problem-solving and conflict resolution; conducts classroom-based character education programs across all grades; and is a member of the school-wide data team.

Video Featuring Shamim S. Patwa

 

Outstanding School Administrator

Carter Welch ’99 (ED), ’11 Ed.D., ’12 ELP — Principal of Jerome Harrison Elementary School, North Branford, Conn.

Carter Welch — NEAG-Awards-2017-selects-24 web WelchCarter Welch received his bachelor of science in sport medicine in 1999, his Ed.D. in 2011, and a certificate in educational leadership in 2012, all from UConn’s Neag School of Education. He is currently enrolled in the Neag School’s PK-3 Leadership Program. Welch earned a master of science in school health and a master of science in exercise science at Southern Connecticut State University.

Prior to his current position, Welch taught physical education to students in the North Branford school district from 2002 to 2005. In 2005, he became the K-12 coordinator for health and physical education for four schools in the district. As coordinator, Welch supervised and evaluated K-5 classroom teachers in health education curriculum; led curriculum teams in health and physical education during curriculum cycle phases; and led professional development on differentiated instruction for all district physical education and health teachers.

Welch served as the dean of students for grades 9 to 12 from 2008 to 2010 before becoming an adjunct professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at SCSU in 2013. In 2014, Welch took on the role of becoming a coach, consultant, and research affiliate with the National School Climate Center in New York. He worked as assistant principal of North Branford High School from 2010 to 2013 before moving to Jerome Harrison Elementary.

Video Featuring Carter Welch

 

Outstanding School Superintendent  

Alan Addley ’07 ELP, ’14 Ed.D. — Superintendent of Granby (Conn.) Public Schools

Addley was recognized by the Neag School’s Alumni Board with the Outstanding Superintendent Award in 2017.

Alan Addley received his Ed.D. from UConn’s Neag School of Education in 2014. Prior to this, Addley earned his Connecticut Intermediate Administrator Certification in 1997 and a Connecticut Superintendent certificate from the Executive Leadership Program in 2007, both from the Neag School. Addley received a bachelor of science degree in education and mathematics from the New University of Ulster in Northern Ireland in 1984 and a master of science degree in education from Western Connecticut State University in 1993.

His prior professional work experience includes working as the director of studies for Rumsey Hall Soccer School in Washington, Conn. overseeing academic life starting in 1988. In 1993, Addley served as the math department chair at the Gunnery School in Washington, Conn., and in 1994, became the acting math department chair at Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield, Conn. He became vice principal of Watertown High School in 1996 and assistant principal in 1997 at Hazelwood Integrated College in Northern Ireland. In 1998, Addley returned to Connecticut and began working as assistant principal of Granby Memorial High School.

Addley became principal of Granby Memorial High in 2001, where he implemented a professional learning community model for school improvement that has resulted in a significant increase in student achievement and increased program opportunities for all students. He has served as superintendent of Granby (Conn.) Public Schools since 2008.

Video Featuring Alan Addley

 

Outstanding Professional  

Alan Kraut ’73 (ED) — Executive director of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System

Alan Kraut — NEAG-Awards-2017-selects-32 web KrautAlan Kraut received his bachelor of science degree at UConn’s school of education in 1973. He went on to earn a master of arts degree in developmental psychology in 1975 and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 1977 from Syracuse University.

Kraut started out as an assistant professor of psychology in 1977 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where he taught at until 1980. During the summers of 1978 and 1979, Kraut taught psychology as an assistant visiting professor at Syracuse University. Kraut then left to work for the American Psychological Association, where he held various positions, including executive director of science, up until 1989. Kraut became the founding executive director of the then-new Association for Psychological Science, where he worked until 2015.

Kraut has been executive director of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System since 2016. As executive director, he is responsible for developing a new independent accreditation system for clinical psychology, recruiting and accrediting new programs that are focused on science, and overseeing all financial and administrative activities.

Video Featuring Alan Kraut

 

Outstanding Higher Education Professional

Maria D. Martinez ’83 MSW, ’96 Ph.D. — Assistant vice provost at the Institute for Student Success in Undergraduate Education and Instruction at the University of Connecticut

Maria D. Martinez — NEAG-Awards-2017-selects-34 web MartinezMaria D. Martinez earned a master of social work degree from the University of Connecticut in 1983. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in professional higher education administration at UConn’s Neag School of Education in 1996. Prior to that, she earned her bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the City University of New York.

Martinez began her career at UConn in 1986 as a counselor within Student Support Services (SSS), where she worked with low-income, first-generation college students. She became the SSS program director in 1993. In 1995, Martinez became the director of the Center for Academic Programs, where she managed the operations of the TRIO Programs (Student Support Services, Upward Bound, and Talent Search).

In 2011, she was named assistant vice provost for ISS and UE&I, where she provides strategic and operational leadership for units and programs within ISS; oversees the delivery of services to facilitate the transition from secondary school to college; and manages the Institute’s budget.

Video Featuring Maria D. Martinez

 

Lifetime Achievement Award

Melvyn L. Reich ’69 Ph.D. — Professor Emeritus at UConn’s Neag School of Education and special education advocate

Melvyn L. Reich — NEAG-Awards-2017-selects-38 web ReichMevlyn L. Reich earned his Ph.D. in special education at UConn’s school of education in 1969. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in psychology at Brown University in 1961 and a master of education degree in special education at Rhode Island College in 1965.

Reich was a special education faculty member at UConn’s school of education for 22 years, and is now a professor emeritus. After retiring from the Neag School in 1992, he has spent the past 25 years serving as director of special education programs in public and private schools in Connecticut, and later in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. During this time, he continued to provide consulting services to a number of private and public organizations. He also regularly provides pro bono advocacy services for special needs children and their families, and volunteers his time as an expert witness on special education-related matters. Prior to his time at UConn, he was an assistant professor at Rhode Island College and a visiting instructor at the University of Maine.

Video Featuring Melvyn L. Reich

Meet Graduate Student, Future Agricultural Educator Rachel Holden

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Editor’s Note: This piece, which was written by Marlese Lessing and originally appeared on the UConn College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources’ Naturally at UConn blog, features Neag School graduate student Rachel Holden ’16 (CAHNR), currently enrolled in the Neag School’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG). TCPCG is offered at UConn’s Hartford, Waterbury, and Avery Point campuses and offers a path for college graduates seeking to gain teacher certification in less than one year.

Rachel Holden
Rachel Holden is currently enrolled in the Neag School’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates, with plans to become an agricultural educator. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Holden)

Rachel Holden is a graduate student studying agricultural education at UConn, with the goal of becoming a teacher after she graduates in May 2017. She is currently student teaching at the agricultural science program at Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford, Conn., with a class of animal science students. Holden is interested in teaching either animal science or horticultural science once she receives her master’s degree. Here is what she said about being a UConn graduate student.

Where did you study as an undergraduate? I studied at the University of Connecticut for my bachelor’s degree.

What was your major? I majored in animal science, with a minor in horticulture. I have several animals at home as well as a greenhouse. I liked the variety.

Why did you decide to go to graduate school? I knew I enjoyed teaching in agricultural education. There are so many things that people don’t know about agriculture. I want to help students understand the importance and realize the different aspects of agriculture. It’s not just farming.

“There are so many things that people don’t know about agriculture. I want to help students understand the importance and realize the different aspects of agriculture. It’s not just farming.”

Who is your advisor? My advisor is Sandra Billings [associate clinical professor in the Neag School].

What is your field of research? My thesis right now is on retention rates in agricultural education programs. I am researching how many students stay within a program over four years and what schools can do to keep students in the program.

Name one aspect of your work you like. I love teaching and working with students. They are all so different and genuinely care about the content they are learning. Making the lessons understandable and having students retain the knowledge is a great feeling.

What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment so far? I was the coach for the Livestock CDE (Career Development Event) team for Lyman Hall’s Future Farmers of America chapter. They competed in the Fall CDEs in November and placed fifth out of 11 teams. I am so proud of them for their success, especially considering they are all underclassmen.

What do you plan to do once you get your degree? I want to stay in Connecticut and become an agricultural educator. I would like to teach either animal science or horticultural science, depending on the opportunities available.

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you? My favorite moment in student teaching was when I built a lesson plan for the sophomores, who were learning breed identification in companion animals and livestock. We went on a ‘safari’ to the surrounding farms, and I showed them the different breeds of cows. It was really fun for both them and me.

Learn more about the Neag School’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) here.