Four members of the Mesa Community College (MCC) Educators Rising (EdRising) Club captured first place awards in several competitions at the 2023 EdRising national conference earlier this year.
EdRising is a national network of teacher leaders and teacher educators providing quality professional development for a career in education to dedicated aspiring educators. More than 3,000 students and educators attended the conference which focused on “Serving Our Community.” Keynote speaker was 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell of Oberlin High School in Ohio.
MCC EdRising student club co-presidents Sariah Chabarria and Estrella Magallon and secretary Rachel Horvat focused on the issue of cyber bullying to take top honors in a team-based ethical dilemma competition.
“I thought the way Estrella, Sariah and I collaborated worked really well,” said Horvat. “We were able to see things from multiple perspectives in order to find more well-rounded solutions.”
Club member Caitlin McLeroy earned first place in a Project Visualize competition based on a student-initiated service project and funded by an MCC Making a Difference Grant for which McLeroy applied. The grant funded hands-on STEAM activities at Mesa’s Rhodes Junior High School including instruction in programming, exploring circuitry and engineering challenges and building a miniature mock-up of a satellite recently launched into space by Arizona State University. McLeroy worked in collaboration with Rhodes teacher Dana Dix and MCC EdRising Club Sen. Taryn Willis.
“My participation enabled me to develop leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, communication and time management skills that will benefit my future as a teacher,” said McLeroy. “I am hopeful we will be able to continue our partnership with Rhodes this upcoming year.”
Other club members attending the conference were Torrie Tsosie and Yarely Tapia, with MCC education faculty member Tawn Hauptli, Ed.D, served as judges in two “creative lecture” competitions focusing on student responses to topics including connectedness after the pandemic and an ethical education-related dilemma.
“We were energized by our experience and are eagerly looking forward to sharing what we have learned with education studies students during the fall 2023 semester,” said Hauptli. “These pre-service teachers are rising stars.”
