Education

Students who are interested in a teaching career or discover they are interested particularly at the secondary school level, typically major in their area of interest, whether in the Humanities, Social Sciences or Sciences. In addition, Union students work with the Union Graduate College toward a Master of Arts and Teaching (MAT) leads to teaching certification, grades 7-12, in many fields in which our undergraduates can major and minor.

How to pursue at Union:

Possible majors:

Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, Computer Science, English, French, Geology, German, History, Latin, Mathematics, Physics and Spanish

Clubs, organizations and volunteer opportunities:

Homework and Skills Development Program, Junior Science, COCOA House (Children of Our Community Open to Achievement), Project SAIL (Studying Arithmetic in Literature), ROAR (Reach Out and read), STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program)

Internship opportunities:

Breakthrough (Greater Boston) Collaborative; Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth; New England Center for Children; School on Wheels; Teach for America; Urban Education Leaders Intern Program of District of Columbia Public Schools

Suggested terms abroad:

Cambodia, which offers internships with The Global Child, a school for street children, and the Ponheary Ly Foundation, which supports rural public schools; Montevideo, Uruguay, which focuses on a national education initiative; and Palau, Micronesia, which offers internships at local schools

Alumni in Education:

  1. R. Douglas Arnold ’72, the William Church Osborn Professor of Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
  2. Alicia Audino ’09, science teacher, Cohoes High School
  3. Samuel Cohn ’71, professor of medieval history, University of Glasgow
  4. Katherine Crosby ’07, French teacher, Cohoes
  5. Madelyn Degutis ’12, English teacher, Andalucía, Spain
  6. Vinny Dotoli ’91, founder and head of school, Harlem Academy
  7. Daniel Flint ’02, history teacher, A. Philip Randolph Academies of Technology, Jacksonville, Fla.
  8. Patrick Guida ’73, vice chairman, Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education; president, National Association of State Boards of Education
  9. Jennifer Lawless ’97, associate professor of government, American University; director, the Women & Politics Institute
  10. Davina Ruiz ’05, middle school science teacher, Sacred Heart Middle School
  11. Katie Schuff ’12, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, Indonesia
  12. Ayanna Vinson-Dobson ’11, 8th grade English teacher, South Hartford, Conn.
  13. Kimberly Keller Vlasseman ’91, high school mathematics teacher, the American School of the Hague in the Netherlands
  14. Gabe Webster ’10, Fellow/Teacher, Math for America (MfA)
  15. Jessica Wenger, assistant dean of Admissions, Union College
  16. Matthew Wentworth ’08, English teacher, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, Massachusetts
  17. Beth Wierzbieniec ’99, dean of academic services, KIPP Ujima Village Academy; adjunct professor, Johns Hopkins University