Alison Hester of Endeavor Charter School Wins 2016 Alden Award

Alison Hester of Endeavor Charter School Wins 2016 Alden Award

This year’s community partner recipient of the Alden Award is Alison Hester from Endeavor Charter School in Wake Forest, NC, in recognition of her long-standing partnership with Duke through a Chemistry Outreach class. Her nominator, Ken Lyle, praised her “love of science and ongoing commitment to the academic and personal development of her students. She has helped introduce her students to Duke’s campus and created powerful learning opportunities not only for her students, but the Duke undergraduates who were able to partner with her.”

One of Service-Learning’s most popular courses is Chemistry Outreach: Sharing Chemistry with the Community. Professor Ken Lyle and his students reach hundreds of K-12 students and families each semester with their highly entertaining presentations.

One of Lyle’s community partners who especially values the chemistry presentations is Endeavor Charter School in Wake Forest, NC. Alison Hester, second grade reading, math and science teacher has been the liaison and is herself one of Chemistry Outreach’s biggest fans. In turn, Professor Lyle has grown to value the partnership, nominating Ms. Hester for Service-Learning’s Betsy Alden Outstanding Service-Learning Award for her outstanding commitment to the ideals of service-learning.

“I am so thankful for our relationship with Dr. Lyle and his Chemistry Outreach program for many reasons,” says Hester. “It is so wonderful to see second graders learning from college teachers and students in a fun and meaningful way. Dr. Lyle does a fantastic job of relating our curriculum to these kids and bringing in fun experiments so that these goals really come to life,” she adds.

“I love partnering with this program because I can teach the basics of a chemistry topic and Dr. Lyle and his crew can come in and take the kid's knowledge one step further. I also love opening students' eyes to the possibility of science in their future. Working with Dr. Lyle and Duke students opens these kids' minds to the possibility of studying science as they get older and possibly as a career choice,” she says.

“It has been so rewarding to earn the Betsy Alden award! I count it a blessing to have such a wonderful relationship with Duke University because of how much it impacts my students. The award has also been a blessing because I can use the gift money to go to some professional development. With budgets being very tight, this is a huge help for me to further my teaching and the impact I make on students!”

The Service-Learning Program is happy to announce the 2016 Betsy Alden Outstanding Service-Learning Award winners. The Awards recognize graduating seniors, one faculty member and one community partner for their outstanding commitment to the ideals of service-learning.