FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Susie P. Gonzalez

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Aug. 12, 2009

Trinity Education Students Train in Costa Rica, Houston Museums and Schools  

SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University students who want to teach want to get started – no summer break for them. Several participated in a Houston-based non-profit program called Writers in the Schools, while others guided students with disabilities or experienced language and culture challenges while teaching English in Costa Rica.

Jack McBride, program manager for Writers in the Schools, said the program had many strong applicants for the Summer Creative Writing Workshops, a three-week session placing college students in classrooms to teach and observe master teachers. “The best candidates came from Trinity,” Mr. McBride said.

Among them was Jessica Huang ’09, who graduated in May and returned briefly to her home town of Sugar Land, Texas. “It was good to be in the classroom,” she said of the creative writing workshop. Ms. Huang returned to campus in July as part of the cohort seeking a Master of Arts in Teaching in the class of 2010.

Another participant in the Houston program was Miriam Sitz ’10 of Katy, Texas, who is majoring in Spanish and environmental studies. Through her internship with ExxonMobil Corp., she helped younger students experience the pleasure and power of reading. She developed creative writing curriculum for school-aged children.

Sarah Dropek ’12 and Madeleine Johnson ’12, both of Houston, also took part in the Houston writing workshops. Ms. Johnson helped 5^th and 6^th graders to fully experience writing through poetry, plays, stories, and fantasy. “There was no wrong answer or silly story. Every child had a story to tell; we just helped them tell it.”

Other summer activities by Trinity education students included:

• Rachel Walz ’10 of The Woodlands, Texas, was an intern at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, where she compiled information on the art of ancient Greece, Rome, and Asia as a resource for teachers in the Houston Independent School District. She also taught young visitors about works of art and read related storybooks to them.
   

• Shannon Jones ’11 of Temple, Texas, was a staff member at a retreat center for children with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities. She helped campers navigate ropes courses, archery, miniature golf, fishing, and swimming, among other duties.  
   

• Megan Peak ’11 of Aledo, Texas, spent five weeks in Costa Rica teaching English to students in pre-kindergarten through 2^nd grade in a private school called Jardin de Ninos.  “We enjoyed reading some classic stories together, learning about colors and food, and some of the basic conversation skills that are taught at an early age in the United States.”
   

• Shelley Ramsey ’11 of Memphis was an intern as a San Antonio non-profit called the Intercultural Development Research Association, an advocacy agency for the educational rights of minority students. She organized college prep sessions for low-income, first generation, primarily Latino high school students, including tips for writing college essays and how to get money for college.

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