As a new cohort of education scholars prepare for Convocation on May 18 and 19, they will go on to push the field forward as educators, researchers and policy makers. We sat down with a selection of graduates to learn about their motivations, their favorite TC moments and what’s next.
Meet Sara Albaker (Ed.M. ’26, Technology Media and Learning)
Hometown: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
How She Makes an Impact: Through her scholarship, Albaker focuses on designing systems that move beyond delivering information to shaping real-world performance. She is particularly interested in how tools like artificial intelligence and simulation can be used more intentionally. As part of this work, she developed a framework to improve simulation-based training in technical industries — where she worked prior to joining TC — by translating learning science research into a more practical approach for design teams. “Effective learning isn’t defined by what people complete; it’s reflected in how they think and perform when it matters,” she says.
What Matters: “I am deeply invested in designing experiences that foster lasting competence and meaningful development,” says Albaker. This conviction comes from her years of experience working in training environments and observing how program design decisions shape what people carry into their work. Her approach centers on outcomes and how training translates into judgment, confidence and performance beyond the training environment.
Her Favorite TC Moment: Getting the space to challenge her conceptions of learning design.
“TC gave me the space to step back and critically examine what it really means for learning to be effective,” says Albaker.
What’s Next: Albaker will continue working at the intersection of technology and professional development, focusing on systems that respond to real organizational needs.
Meet Chyanika K. Bajaj (M.A. ’26, Curriculum and Teaching)
Hometown: New Delhi, India
How She Makes an Impact: Bajaj has committed her career to building more inclusive curricula and creating more equitable systems. This passion first developed during her time teaching multilingual students in New Delhi and strengthened as a Zankel Fellow supporting students at the Teachers College Community School (TCCS). “I want to work toward curricula and teaching practices that treat students’ full linguistic and cultural backgrounds as genuine strengths [by] bridging research, policy and practice,” says Bajaj, recipient of TC’s 2026 Shirley Chisholm Trailblazer Award, which recognizes students who have made outstanding contributions to the TC community. Her research, including her publication on translanguaging, reflects her commitment to connecting theory with classroom practice.
Her advocacy for the international student experience extends to her TC peers as well. Bajaj created the International Students Club, a welcoming space for students to build connections across cultures, and represented international students on TC’s student senate. These valuable contributions to the TC community were recognized with the Provost's Exemplary Impact Award.
What Matters: Advancing social justice and multi-lingual education. “A student’s relationship with language shapes their sense of belonging in a learning environment [and] I saw how much is possible when a classroom makes room for who you actually are,” says Bajaj, a former course assistant for Prem Phyak, Associate Professor in International and Comparative Education who speaks four languages: English, Hindi, Punjabi and German. “I want my scholarship to help more classrooms become that kind of place.”
Her Favorite TC Moment: Building community inside and outside the classroom. As a TC library staff member, her daily interactions with students and faculty became small, consistent moments of care and support that quietly reflected Bajaj’s deeper commitment to the institution and the people within it. That same spirit extended to her relationships with TC’s students and faculty. “That kind of intellectual generosity, where faculty genuinely invest in your growth and support you, is something I will carry with me long after graduation.”
What’s Next: Exploring new visions of education as a researcher that better serve multilingual students.
Meet Susan Guo (M.A. ’26, Bilingual/Bicultural Education)
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
How She Makes an Impact: Guo is an educator passionate about supporting multilingual students and their diverse backgrounds. As a child of Chinese immigrants growing up in New York City and learning only in English, Guo struggled to find spaces where her full identity was embraced, something she aims to change for her students.
“My desire is that my students receive a just and dignified educational experience that supports their transnational identity development in a globalized world,” says Guo, who specializes in bilingual special education. “As long as students feel comfortable discovering and embracing their full identities and continue to see themselves as lifelong learners capable of empathy and perspective-taking, I would consider my pedagogy a success.”
What Matters: Supporting identity development for multilingual students. Not only are children who speak multiple languages at risk of “cultural erasure” in monolingual systems, according to Guo, they are often misdiagnosed with learning disabilities because of “perceived language delays…Now, having a clearer understanding of the field and its potential, I recognize the just and equitable education that my bilingual students, with or without disabilities, deserve,” she says.
Her Favorite TC Moment: Expanding her worldview by joining TC’s global community and meeting people from around the world. Guo’s experience meeting students from various areas of China reinforced her desire to explore her roots more deeply. “Although I am physically far from the country, hearing their stories makes the experience feel much more accessible,” she says.
What’s Next: Working as a special education teacher in Chinatown.
Meet Kevin Henderson (Ph.D. ’26, Comparative and International Education)
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
How He Makes an Impact: Henderson’s scholarship explores the origins of ideas toward education, which he argues are “never neutral,” and how they influence education policy. Prior to TC, Henderson established digital education initiatives in several Asian countries as a program officer and program director of digital content at the United Board, an experience that led him to the College. “I’ve always been interested in how certain ideas about education become common sense while others are marginalized. Comparative education gives me a way to examine that question across very different national and institutional contexts,” says Henderson, who served as editor-in-chief for Current Issues in Comparative Education and led the creation of a Southeast Asia special interest group for Comparative and International Education Society.
What Matters: Understanding whose ideas get to shape educational systems. Henderson was drawn to this question while working in Asia with the United Board. During his time on the continent he repeatedly encountered the same policy language in disparate national contexts with “very little scrutiny of where that language came from or whose interests it served,” says Henderson.
His Favorite TC Moment: Creating deep connections with faculty and his peers as a doctoral student, which have in turn shaped Henderson’s scholarship. “The TC experience is really what you make it, and I've been fortunate to make it a home,” he says.
What’s Next: This summer, Henderson will take a role as director of the Honors College at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where he will also teach as a member of the Honors College faculty. He currently serves as associate director of the Honors College and director of the Office of Student Fellowships at Duquesne.
Meet Nilesh Jain (M.A. ’26, Education Policy)
Hometown: Edgemont, N.Y.
How He Makes an Impact: Jain found his path to education while seeking renewed motivation after 25 years as a finance professional. He found it after joining the Board of Education for his hometown which started his journey to discover public education in America. His time at TC, learning from “passionate professors” and contributing to projects at TC’s School Board and Youth Engagement (S-BYE) Lab in turn informed Jain’s approach to his volunteer work and trustee positions. “My learnings at Teachers College have helped me expand my vision and scope of my future work without any borders,” says Jain, who is now seeking to improve Indian public schools by establishing partnerships with education think tanks.
What Matters: Supporting education for his community. “I feel gratitude towards [the] people and institutions [that] shaped my boys into men,” says Jain who serves on the board of trustees for STEM Alliance and on the Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
His Favorite TC Moment: Taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge — and food — on offer at TC. “I have been enriched by the immense diversity of students across [all demographics] and the diversity in thoughts and perspectives,” says Jain.
What’s Next: Jain is seeking roles where he can empower parents and advocacy groups in policy creation and create more equitable education funding formulas.
Meet Christina Torres (Ph.D. ’26, Science Education)
Hometown: Staten Island, N.Y.
How She Makes an Impact: In her role as the coordinator for TC’s Center for Sustainable Futures, Torres has helped strengthen sustainability education in NYC through partnerships, research and programs for educators for six years. Among other responsibilities, she was an instrumental part of the annual Mid-Winter and Summer Climate Institutes, which help NYC public school teachers implement climate change education. Torres also served as president of TC’s Sustainability Task Force student group, helping advance sustainability as a core priority of the college, and has taught an ecology course to sustainability minded fashion students for more than seven years as an adjunct assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
“These experiences at TC have validated the kind of career I hope to build in the future: one that makes climate knowledge more meaningful, accessible and capable of inspiring action,” says Torres, who has received the College’s Shirley Chisholm Trailblazer Award and Emerging Leaders Award.
What Matters: Helping people translate knowledge to climate action through education. Torres’ passion for science education started while she was studying wood-boring beetles as an ecology student at the City College of New York. “I realized my favorite part about science is the chance to build bridges between stakeholders in and outside the scientific community to solve some of the biggest issues we face today,” she says.
Her Favorite TC Moment: Joining a global community of scholars committed to advancing sustainability and education. “I have had the honor to learn from our community and grow as a scholar because of our community,” says Torres. “I am forever grateful…to be part of such an incredible group of scholars.”
What’s Next: Torres will continue her position at the Fashion Institute of Technology while seeking new opportunities to expand climate education.
Meet Michelle Verdiner (Ed.D. ’26, Urban Education Leaders Program)
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
How She Makes an Impact: Verdiner aims to influence how large urban school systems design and implement equitable curriculum. She hopes to ensure “that all students see themselves reflected in what they learn,” says Verdiner, principal of the Teachers College Community School (TCCS). She is especially proud of her role in supporting the design and implementation of the PK-12 Black Studies curriculum in New York City schools, developed by the College’s Black Education Research Center (BERC). “Being able to contribute to a project that has the potential to impact students across an entire system is incredibly meaningful to me,” says Verdiner.
What Matters: “Creating educational environments where students feel seen, valued and challenged,” says Verdiner, who notes that her sense of community is deeply informed by her upbringing in New York City. “As a school leader, I have witnessed how curriculum shapes identity, engagement and opportunity. That experience inspired me to pursue this field more deeply through research, so I could better understand — and contribute to — the systems-level work required to create more equitable schools.”
Her Favorite TC Moments: “What I have loved most about my time at Teachers College is the opportunity to engage in rigorous scholarship while remaining grounded in practice,” says Verdiner. “The community of scholars and practitioners challenged me to think more deeply, write more precisely and situate my work within broader conversations about equity and leadership. It has strengthened both my voice and my purpose as a leader.”
What’s Next: Continuing to make a meaningful difference for all students through community focused school leadership and scholarship.