Local scholar receives fellowship

By Harold Gwin

The accomplished pianist from Boardman chose to follow other family members into teaching.

BOARDMAN — Alexandra Fuentes had a choice — pursue a career in piano performance or become a teacher.

Her true calling appears to be in teaching, something of a family tradition. She is one of only 33 people from across the nation to be awarded a fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation.

The fellowships are renewable for up to five years and worth up to $150,000.

The foundation is a national advocate for improving the quality of science and mathematics teaching.

Fuentes, who graduated this spring from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in biological science and an honors bachelor’s degree in economics, will attend Harvard University for her teaching degree. She anticipates a May 2009 graduation.

Her goal is to teach high school biology, and she eventually wants to work in the field of education policy.

She is an accomplished pianist and considered attending a music conservatory to major in piano performance before deciding to pursue science.

“I want to teach biology in low-performing high schools where I can help young people make the transition into higher education and the workforce,” Fuentes said, noting that she would prefer to teach in Mississippi .

Her interest in teaching is something she learned from her family.

It was her grandmother’s unfulfilled wish to be a teacher and, today, seven of Fuentes’ family members are teachers, including her own mother, Evelyn Jones, who teaches mathematics and science at Alpha: School of Excellence for Boys in Youngstown.

Fuentes, 22, was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the Youngstown area when she was just 1 year old. She is a Boardman High School graduate and a University of Pittsburgh Honors Scholar. She has received Harvard University’s Leadership in Education Award and was a Brackenridge Research Fellow, having developed a research proposal for a case study of Head Start preschools.

While at Pitt, she interned at and became a consultant for Magee Womancare International, coordinating health care and career workshops for Somali-Bantu refugee girls. She also volunteered at two low-performing schools in the Pittsburgh area and worked with preschoolers as an AmeriCorps member for Jumpstart Pittsburgh.

The Knowles Teaching Fellowship supports aspiring teachers of promise as they pursue careers teaching high school science and mathematics. The financial package provides tuition assistance, monthly stipends and support for summer professional development. The goal is to ensure that the best teachers remain in the profession to become leaders in the field.

“Math and science skills are vital to our staying competitive as a nation and yet little is being done to support the teachers who are responsible for our students’ proficiency in these areas,” said Dr. Angelo Collins, the foundation’s executive director. “In supporting talented, dedicated future educators, we are ensuring excellence in science and mathematics teaching in American high schools for years to come.”

This year, the foundation awarded 13 fellowships in mathematics, 11 in physical sciences and nine in biological sciences. Fuentes’ award is in biological sciences.

gwin@vindy.com