Student Spotlight

Future Math Educator Wins Nationally Competitive Grant

OUCTM President Marissa Blewitt shares her teaching philosophy

ATHENS, Ohio (Sept. 21, 2007)– Marissa Blewitt is a junior math education major and the president of the Ohio University Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OUCTM). She’s a star student who has a lot on her plate, but she no longer has to worry about paying for her education.

Blewitt has been awarded the Prospective Secondary Teacher Course Work Scholarship,
which comes with a cool $10,000. She is one of only three recipients nationally. The grant is awarded by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and funded by the Texas Instruments Demana-Waits Fund. The fund was endowed by Ohio State University math professors Frank Demana and Bert K. Waits to offer financial help to college students who are pursuing a teaching career in secondary-level mathematics.

It is a highly competitive, prestigious award. The OHIO Morton Chair of Mathematics Education Greg Foley says, “This is a distinctive honor. It’s akin to one of our College of Education faculty winning a Fulbright.”

Blewitt is clearly dedicated to preparing for her future career. In addition to serving as president of OUCTM, she is a member of the College’s CARE (Creating Active, Reflective Educators) Partnership. She has also attended several national teaching conferences and spent many hours volunteering. In addition, Blewitt is a peer mentor for the freshmen Education Learning Community. She plans to use her newly acquired grant funds to help pay off her tuition, but getting the scholarship, she says, was an arduous process.

When she applied for the Prospective Secondary Teacher Course Work Scholarship at the beginning of last year, Blewitt was required to provide her class schedule, how she planned to use the scholarship, her transcript, three letters of recommendation and an essay on why she wants to be an educator. In her essay, Blewitt expressed a desire to help her future

Left to Right: NCTM President Skip Fennell, OCTM President-Elect Kim Yoak,
OCTM Affiliate Services Chair Judy Gerwe, OUCTM Vice President
Nick Shay, OUCTM Public Relations Chair Emily Daughters,
NCTM Executive Director James Rubillo and Marissa Blewitt

students comprehend the material rather than relying on rote memorization. She plans to be the kind of teacher that invests a lot of emotional energy into helping her students find success.

“That’s the teacher I want to be – memorable: the teacher that students will hope their younger siblings have,” Blewitt explains.

With plans to become certified to teach geometry in grades 7-12, Blewitt hopes to teach high school freshman specifically because she feels students are most impressionable at that age, most open to developing a love for mathematics. She particularly wants to reach out to students struggling with math because she had so many influential teachers growing up who believed in her and helped her through challenging course work. She feels the chance to give back, or “pay it forward,” is one of the best parts of teaching.

“Why do I want to become an educator?” Blewitt asks. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s the highest paying job out there; the payment just can’t be measured in money.”

By Megan Stemen