The 2015 TC Graduates Gallery features a diverse group of individuals from around the world. Here you'll meet twin sisters from Kuwait who are establishing the field of mental health there; a doctoral candidate who has studied the response of colleges and universities to on-campus disasters; a pre-servicing teaching graduate of TC's first cohort of O'Neill Fellows; and a technology student who has launched his own educational play company. We'll be posting more stories throughout Convocation week.


Giving Immigrant Students a Sporting Chance: George Diaz
Growing up in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, George Diaz had an older sister with a severe physical disability who had to crawl up the stairs in her school because there was no elevator.At TC, he focused his doctoral research on improving the effectiveness of physical education for those in under-privileged communities. (Read more..)

Two Against Taboo: Dalal and Alaa Alhomaizi Are Making Mental Health Public in Kuwait
Psychology master's degree graduates and twin sisters Dalal and Alaa Alhomaizi have launched their own campaign, SPEAK, to lift the veil of secrecy that shrouds mental issues in their native Kuwait. (Read more...)

Realizing Her Dream Amid a Fellowship of Kindred Spirits: O'Neill Fellow Sarah Duer
Sarah Duer has wanted to be a teacher since accompanying her mother, an elementary school teacher, on errands around their hometown of Edison, New Jersey. TC's O'Neill Fellowship has helped her realize her dream. (Read more...)

Learning from Crises on Campus: Katie Treadwell
Katie Treadwell grew up in Oklahoma City, where her father was a first-responder to the 1995 terrorist bombing. At TC, she has focused her research on how adults navigate disasters, intentional, accidental and naturally occurring, that hit campuses. (Read more...)

Informed Advocacy: Lorraine Hexstall
Until he was diagnosed with a visual discrepancy, Lorraine Hexstall's son was misunderstood by teacher who attributed his school performance to his gender, race or both. So Hexstall decided to pursue a doctorate at TC "so I could become not just an informed parent advocate, but an impartial one." (Read more...)

Once More into the Fray: Chris Anderson
A registered nurse who had been out of the formal workforce for two and a half decades, Chris Anderson says a unique TC program has given her renewed confidence as a diabetes educator. (Read more...)

The doctor Is In – and Multiculturally Competent: Choumika Simonis
Working on children's malnutrition in Haiti in the wake of the 2011 earthquake reaffirmed Choumika Simonis in her belief that physicians must understand the social and ecological factors that impact health. TC's Community Health Education program was a natural next step for her. (Read more...)

Starting up and Settling Down: Enok Kim
Enok Kim is Korean by birth, grew up in Kazakhstan and came to the United States, where he has started his own educational technology company, LearnPlay Games. (Read more...)

Teaching Art to Captive Audiences: Rebeka Burns
If art can be liberating, Rebeka Burns, founder of the non-profit Arts + Humans, came to arts education as her vocation by working where it is most needed: hospitals and prisons. (Read more...)

Exploring the Roots of Black Schooling: Daniel Harris
Daniel Harris was interested in black contributions to American education. He came to TC after interning at  at the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, led by TC alumnus David Johns. (Read more...)

Getting to Know the Score: Nancy Green Saraisky
A former foreign policy staffer for the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Nancy Green Saraisky had a busy career in politics, media and philanthropy before deciding to earn a doctorate. A position with the Open Society Foundations, based in Budapest with travel across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, plunged her into the world of education policy. “I’ve had a non-linear path,” Green Saraisky says of the journey that led her to TC, “but it all fits together.” (Read more...)

Published Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2015