Name |
Biographical Sketch
|
Mary Bonitatibus-Garrity |
Mary Bonitatibus-Garrity is a teacher of Business and Technology at Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ. She enjoys being a positive role model and influencing her students to pursue higher education. Outside of work, she is an avid volunteer. She has been an EMT for her town ambulance squad for 15 years, and has worked with foster children in Newark as a CASA advocate. She has incorporated into her lessons a great deal of what she learned on the Fulbright Hays Group Projects abroad trip to South Korea and has enabled her students to become interested in learning more about the Korean language and the history and culture of the Korean peninsula. |
Sean Coogan |
Sean Coogan currently works at a private school for students with behavioral/emotional disabilities. He graduated from William Paterson University with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Secondary Education. He also recently received his endorsement to teach students with disabilities. He plans on obtaining his Master’s Degree with a concentration on East Asian history before entering a PhD program. He is greatly interested in the history of Korea and the relationship it has with its neighboring countries. |
Christina Clarry |
Christina Clarry is William Paterson University Graduate. In May of 2014, Christina obtained a Bachelor’s degree in both History and Secondary Education. This Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad participant was so intrigued by the history, culture and education system in South Korea that she decided she wanted to go back after the summer program. Christina applied to teach through the Korean Ministry of Education in a program known as EPIK (English Program in Korea). Christina will spend the 2015 school year in Ulsan, South Korea, teaching English to Elementary School children. She hopes to further participate in cultural exchange and provide students with a meaningful education. |
Scott Demeter |
Scott Demeter is a teacher at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack New Jersey. His focus is in the area of Social Studies, including courses in American IB History, and global history. His major focus is developing students’ understanding to history through a global approach to better prepare them for the interconnectivity of the human experience.
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Melissa Diaz |
Melissa Diaz is a graduate from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and a Master's in secondary Social Studies Education. She currently teaches American History and African and Asian Cultures and Civilizations at Tenafly High School, NJ. She gained a wealth of new knowledge and perspectives by visiting Korea and is excited to bring those experiences into her classroom.
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James Kiamie |
James Kiamie earned Bachelor’s of Engineering and Master’s of Engineering degrees from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark. He has taught various high school mathematics, science, and engineering courses in three public school districts. Currently, Mr. Kiamie is teaching chemistry and an engineering elective at Garrett Morgan Academy for Transportation and Engineering, a high school in the Paterson Public School District. |
Samantha Kopp |
Samantha Kopp is a first and second grade resource teacher at Dennis B. O’Brien School in Rockaway, NJ. She is also an ABA home-instructor. She received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with Teachers of Students with Disabilities and Sociology from William Paterson University. She plans on completing her Master's program in Special Education. Traveling to South Korea was her first time studying abroad. From this trip, she acquired a wealth of knowledge about the culture and education system. |
Chelsea Olsen |
Chelsea Olsen graduated from William Paterson University in December 2014 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and a certification in K-6 Elementary Education and Teacher of Students with Disabilities. She now works in the Maplewood/South Orange School District as a 5th Grade Special Education Teacher. A previous study abroad program to The Netherlands inspired and motivated her to become a participant in the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad to South Korea. Traveling to South Korea further developed her open-minded approach to teaching and ability to reach all types of students. |
Ivan Rosa |
Ivan Rosa is an art teacher at International High School in Paterson, NJ. He holds additional certifications in elementary education and English as a second language. Since 1995, Ivan has taught students from kindergarten through high school in both Paterson and Camden. He recently travelled to India and South Korea through Fulbright-Hays fellowship opportunities and enjoys teaching co-curricular art lessons; which incorporate global issues, culture and history. |
Yeimi Vasquez |
Yeimi Vasquezis currently enrolled in K-6 with a 5-8 endorsement program along with liberal studies (concentration in English and History). She is also pursuing the Bilingual endorsement . She works for the Chatham school district as a paraprofessional. Her intended date of graduation is December, 2015. Traveling to South Korea gave her a new perspective on the culture, economy, the Korea school system and several advanced technologies. She also learned how important it is to respect other cultures and norms, and learned how it felt not to know the language and try to interact with the locals. Overall, she learned to keep an open mind when in a new environment. She also learned that she loves Kimchi. |
Alexandra Vervoordt |
Alexandra Vervoordt is a Kindergarten teacher in Northern New Jersey. She received a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood education and Art Studio from William Paterson University. She has a passion for creating a classroom with a global perspective. Her recent travels to South Korea with the Fulbright-Hays program has aided this passion. She is continuing to pursue travel as a way of enhancing her teaching practice and will be visiting Colombia in the summer of 2015. |
Shanthia Williams |
Shanthia Williams graduated from Kean University in 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a minor in Education. She is a certified K-12 English teacher. Shanthia has been teaching at Philip's Academy Charter school, formerly known as St. Philip's Academy, since 2007 and in that time has had several roles such as Dean of students, Grade level advisor and Placement Office Assistant. Shanthia spent a summer studying in Prague and was inspired by this experience as well as an interest in Korean culture to take part in the Fulbright-Hayes group program. She believes that among the many responsibilities of a teacher is the need to create 21st century learners who understand not just their own cultural perspectives, but those of others. Upon returning from South Korea, Shantia initiated and directed a Korean dance performance at Philip's Academy Charter school (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH5gKbi69R0&feature=youtu.be) |
