Our Students
"EDPL prepared me quite well for my current position. I left feeling as though my only professional limitations would be those that were self-imposed rather than any resulting from being unequipped to compete with other job candidates holding the same credentials. The faculty and staff certainly delivered what it is they profess to provide. And most importantly, they managed to do so while convincing me that they genuinely cared about me as a human being." -Jeffrey Pegram
Jeffrey Pegram is currently an assistant professor in the Education Department at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY.
Philbert Aaron, an advisee of Dr. Steven Selden, defended his dissertation titled, Class Advantage: Social Class and Knowledge Production in Elementary Classrooms under the New Accountability, and received his Ph.D. in May 2005. This is a study of how the No Child Left Behind policy impacts classroom teaching practice.
Philbert Aaron, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Adult and General Education at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland and is currently serving (2007-2008) as President of Coppin's Faculty Senate.
Kasra Sotudeh, Doctoral Student, Socio-cultural Foundations of Education, is currently serving as one of two student liaisons for the EDPS Graduate Student Association and aslo teaches EPS 301 - Foundations of Education, a required undergraduate course for all education majors. In the past, he has served as a middle school teacher and coach at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and has also taught ESOL students at Julius West Middle School in Rockville, MD. These days, when not on campus, Kasra will most likely be found at a local school gym or recreation center officiating basketball games for youth and young adults. His passion for sports, student's athletic and academic success, and the value of written narrative has grown into research interests with curriculum development, phenomenology, and specifically the notion of capturing autobiographical renderings. Kasra has completed his coursework and is currently finishing up his comprehensive exams and working towards his proposal. He plans on being doen by December 2009.
Xuan Weng, Doctoral Student, Curriculum Theory and Development, An international Doctoral student from China, Xuan has studied in EDPS for 6 years. She is currenlty writing her dissertation: "A Phenomenological Study of Teaching Chinese in the United States." She is also interested in Immigrant education, Cultural and pedagogical conflict between U.S. and China, Identity transition, Educational reform in China, and so on. In addition, she is trying to help the communication between American and Chinese educators right now. Xuan has lived in the United States for almost 9 years, with he husband and their lovely son Luke.
Mark Brimhall-Vargas, Doctoral Student, Socio-cultural Foundations of Education, is currently co-chair of the EDPS Graduate Student Association and has enjoyed his time in the department immensely. His intersest include: diverstiy and intergroup dialogue, phenomenology and case studies, postmodern social theory, and all questions of philosophy, religious experience and identity. He finishes coursework in December 2008 and hopes to finish the dissertation process in about two years after that. Mark has also worked on campus for about 10 years. Mark and his partner, Joe, have four parrots.
Ally Hudson, Doctoral Student, Curriculum Theory and Development, is a second-year M.Ed. student. Previously, she has worked at the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) in Washington, D.C. as a Scholar Ambassador. She currently works as a Graduate Assistant and Spanish translator for the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Facilities Department. In addition, she has spent the past two summers working as a home-liaison and translator for the tremendously challenging but rewarding St. Clair County Summer Migrant Program in Steele, Al. Her current research interests are in second language acquisition, bilingual education, and the unique challenges that beset the migrant student population in public schools. Ally lives in Annapolis nearby her midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, and enjoys cooking, reading, and supporting all things Navy!
Reuben Jacobson, Doctoral Student, Socio-cultural Foundations of Education, previously worked at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in Washington, D.C. as a research analyst. In addition, he spent two tremedously challenging and wonderful years teaching fifth and sixth grade student in D.C. public schools as a D.C. Teaching Fellow. his current research intersts are in community schools and serice integration as a reform strategy to address the contextual factors of education. He lives in Dupont Circle with his wife and enjoys biking, cooking (when there's time!), and enthusiastically supporting Wisconsin sports teams.
Julie Zdanoski, Doctoral Student, Curriculum Theory and Development, before coming to Maryland, Julie worked as an English language teacher and teacher educator in Japan, Turkey, Sri Lanka and the Russian Federation. In the latter two locations, she was a DOS fellow and while living in Russia she published a textbook on intercultural communications. She now teaches EDPS210: Historical and Philosophical Foundations at UMD as well as adult ESL courses at Montgomery College. Nearly all of her researc intersts - in philosophy, curriculum theory, the history of education & education policy - revolve around the question of language and subjectivity. She is particularly fond of Heideggerian phenomenology and post-Heideggerian continental philosophy, all the while maintaining special admiration for Karl Marx! She occasionally doubles as a performance artist, seen below as a spinning head, or as a translator of juvenile fiction.
Mary Grace Snyder, Docotral Student, Curriculum Theory and Development, is wrting and writing and writing her proposal for her phenomenological study of the lived high school experience of GED college graduates. With Dr. Hultgren's inspirational help and endless boxes of junior mints, she hopes to finish her dissertation work before the end of 2009. She is also an instructor in the teacher preparation program at Johns Hopkins University and cosults for the GED Testing Service.
Paul Baumann, Doctoral Student, Socio-cultural Foundations of Eduaction, a fourth year doctoral student is a native of central Ohio. Immediately after completing his undergraduate degree in music education, Paul moved to the DC metro area to pursue graduate studies in Education Leadership at the American University. During his time in and around DC, Paul taught elemetary and high scool choral music for 10 years and sang in several local choral ensembles. His current research interests include the professionalization of teaching and teacher eduaction. Paul currently shares his home with hi partner Chris, and thier two dogs, Lila and Hildi.
Raquel L. González, Doctoral Student, Socio-cultural Foundations of Education, currently works for the Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education (MIMAUE) where she conducts program evaluation of the Institute's numerous grants as well as provides general support. Raquel graduated with a BS in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. After college, Raquel worked for the American Institutes for Research's (AIR) California office for about six years where she worked on numerous national and state evaluations. While at AIR, Raquel had the opportunity to develop knowledge about survey methodology. She conducted cognitive laboratory interviews, as well as, created, administered and analyzed surveys. Besides survey design, her interests are in tenuous connections between school systems and marginalized populations outside these systems. Specifically, she is interested in minority recruitment and retention in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as the interaction between school systems and parents. For the last two years she has served as an executive board member to UMCP's Latino/a Graduate Student Association (LGSA).
Tom Hurst, Master's Student, Socio-cultural Foundations of Education, previous work includes an undergraduate at Bowling Green State University. His thesis was on promoting civic virtues and critical thinking dispositions in elementary students. Tom's research interests include school reform, civic education, developing thinking skills, and schools as communities. Tom currently holds a fellowship at the National Defense University working on education policy. He's also a huge James Bond and general movie fan.
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