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Six graduate students in the University of Georgia College of Education have received prestigious Doctoral Scholars Fellowships from the Southern Regional Education Board.

Awardees must be in the first year of a Ph.D. program and a member of a racial or ethnic minority who plans to become a full-time college or university faculty member after earning a doctorate.

The award offers three years of direct program support and two years of institutional support from the scholar’s college, university and/or department, in the form of a $15,000-$20,000 annual stipend. Each recipient is also awarded up to five years of university-covered tuition and fees. The award also provides professional development support and covers expenses associated with attending the annual Compact for Faculty Diversity Institute on Teaching and Mentoring.

The recipients include:

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  Bray

  Beryl Bray, a native of Ghana, West Africa who has lived in Pennsylvania and Georgia for the past 10 years and is a doctoral student in educational psychology with a concentration in applied cognition and development. Her major professor is Martha Carr. Bray is currently a graduate assistant in the UGA Graduate School’s Outreach & Diversity Office and a doctoral intern at the University System of Georgia – Board of Regents in Atlanta.  She also served as an adjunct instructor in early childhood care and education at DeKalb Technical College. She was previously a teaching assistant at both Pennsylvania State and Clarion universities. She received her master’s degree in educational psychology from UGA and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Clarion University.

• 

  Coleman

  Monica Coleman, of McDonough, is a graduate student in counseling and student personnel services at UGA’s Gwinnett campus and a school counselor in Henry County. Her major professor is Anneliese Singh. Coleman has been a school counselor at Dutchtown Elementary School for the past five years and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She was a school counselor at Luella Middle School for three years before that and began her career as a special education teacher. Coleman received her master’s and educational specialist degree in counseling from Florida State University. She received her B.S. in Interrelated Special Education from Alabama A&M University.

• 

  Jimenez

  Albert Jimenez, of Augusta, is a graduate student in educational psychology with an emphasis on research, evaluation, measurement and statistics. His major professor is Karen Samuelsen. Jimenez is currently a Goizueta Foundation Research Assistant in UGA’s Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education.  He previously worked as a mathematics teacher at Clarke Central  High School in Athens for five years before deciding to pursue his doctorate. Jimenez has an master’s degree in sociology from Mississippi State University and a bachelor’s degree. in sociology from Augusta State University.

• 

  Johnson

  Christopher Johnson, of Altamonte Springs, Fla., is a graduate student in educational psychology with an emphasis on applied cognition and development. His major professor is Louis Castenell. Johnson has worked as a graduate assistant for UGA’s Office of Institutional Diversity for the past year.  He received his master’s degree in educational psychology from UGA and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Florida A&M University. Before coming to UGA to seek his master’s, Johnson taught first grade English as a Second Language (ESOL) in Gainesville, Ga.

• 

  Lasker-Scot

• Tennille Lasker-Scott, of Conway, Ark., is a graduate student in adult education. Her major professor is Juanita Johnson-Bailey. She serves as a graduate research assistant for the Institute for Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia, a resource consortium of the Georgia Judicial Branch, the State Bar of Georgia, and the four American Bar Association-accredited law schools of the state (Emory, Georgia State, Mercer and UGA).  She previously worked as a project manager for the Arkansas Department of Community Correction. Lasker-Scott received her master’s degree in adult education and a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in human resource management, both from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
• 

  Thomas

  D. Michelle Thomas, of Savannah, is a graduate student in educational psychology with a concentration in applied cognition and development. Her major professor is Louis Castenell. Thomas was a fourth grade special education teacher in Chatham County Schools in Savannah before returning to school to pursue her doctorate. Prior to that, she served in corporate sales with Bank of America, UPS and Concentra Medical Services. She received her master’s degree in school psychology from Georgia Southern University and her bachelor’s degree in consumer economics from UGA.