Four Tristate Educators to be Honored at UC s December Commencement Ceremony

• Teaching is her second career, and she’s praised by students for fostering a love of learning.
• A teacher of gifted students will receive this special gift at UC’s Commencement ceremony.
• A self-proclaimed “small-town” student will honor the former teacher who literally drove her on the pathway to a higher education.
• A December graduate will honor a former teacher and administrator, now retired and pursuing her lifelong learning at UC.

All four women will be honored with UC’s seventh-annual Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Award as the University of Cincinnati celebrates all-university Commencement at 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, in Fifth Third Arena.

Each of the honorees will be presented with a $1,000 scholarship to be awarded to a student of her choosing who plans to attend UC in the 2012-2013 academic year.

Earlier in the fall, future UC graduates from around the Tristate were invited to recognize the K-12 educator who fueled their dreams of achieving a higher education. The recipients of the Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Awards were selected from 23 nominations that were reviewed by a UC committee that included representation from the Office of the President, UC faculty, staff and students.

The recipients of the 2011 Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Awards are:

Susan Moore

– Moore teaches at the Live Oaks Career Development Campus in Milford, and is a 17-year veteran of teaching. Her former student, Katherine Yount of Amelia, is earning her associate degree in multi-skilled health technology and attending Clermont College. “She not only shared her love of the medical field with me, but also a love of learning, and that being a lifelong learner is something that everyone should strive for,” Yount says.

Gail Seifert

– Seifert is a 34-year veteran of teaching, including 25 years of working with gifted students. The Whitaker Elementary School teacher is being honored by music education major Sarah Grogan, a full scholarship recipient at UC. “She also emphasized that there was no such thing as failure. If something didn’t work, the gifted class just kept on going. My experience in Mrs. Seifert’s class had such an impact on me that I decided early on to become a teacher,” says Grogan.

Marcia Taynor

– The Springfield-Clark Career Technology teacher is a 24-year veteran of the profession. Her former student, Allison Sherick, will be graduating next June with a bachelor’s degree in middle childhood education with a focus on math and science. “Ms. Taynor supported me and helped me through leaving home for the first time, and she continued to take interest in my progress, my struggles and my achievements,” says Sherick. “She is still my biggest supporter and my best mentor.”

Anita Williams

– The 33-year veteran of teaching was a teacher, principal and district curriculum director when she retired from the Winton Woods City School District. She is now a doctoral student in UC’s urban educational leadership program. Her former student, Stephanie Tevis, will march at Commencement in December as Tevis achieves a bachelor’s degree in dietetics. “She was one of my very first teachers to show a balance of strength and compassion,” Tevis says. “Basically, she was the person who made me feel like I was able to accomplish an education beyond high school.”

UC’s December Commencement ceremony recognizes graduates who completed their associate, bachelor’s or master’s degrees last summer or this fall.

UC Commencement Website