Thank you, fellow TOYs, for your tremendous involvement in getting the scholarship application forms into the hands of students. This year, we had 16 applicants (one arrived after the deadline) for the Kay Battista Award and 4 for the Family Scholarship. They were all such worthy applicants; our readers wanted to award each of them a scholarship. After much thought, the judges chose Maegan Christiano as the recipient of the NSTOY Family Scholarship and Britton Lane for the Kay Battista Award.
Maegan is the granddaughter of Terry Christiano. She lives in Midlothian, VA and will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, where she will major in elementary education. Maegan says that ever since she was a little girl she has wanted to become a teacher just like her grandma “Goopy.” (Now we know what to call Terry, ;-) ) She is a talented singer and she served as dance captain of the mixed show choir at her school.
Maegan has been involved with the Teachers for Tomorrow program during her high school years. Her participation included student teaching a music class of third,
fourth, and fifth graders. During her first year teaching there, she choreographed the entire second grade play. Her mentor teachers rate Maegan above average in all areas of assessment, including communication skills, interaction with teachers and students, punctuality and attendance, poise, appropriate speech and dress, use of time, attitude, responsibility and trustworthiness. They say that she has excellent classroom management skills and that her demeanor is friendly and inviting. She constantly smiles and conveys to the students how much fun she is having. Her obvious enthusiasm for working with students is contagious, as the kids seem to enjoy the sessions as much as she does. An example of Maegan's dedication to her students is the fact that she often stays beyond the required time, even missing her lunch so she can spend more time with the students.
We congratulate Maegan on her past achievements. As NSTOY members, we feel blessed to be a part of sending into the profession a potential teacher of such high caliber.
Britton Lane is a graduating senior from Londonderry, NH who is planning to attend Endicott College in Massachusetts, where he will pursue a BS degree in Physical and Health Education, K-12. In his application,
