Magazine Fall 2011 Northwestern State University of Louisiana

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Alumni NewsGiddens named Louisiana Teacher of the YearNorthwestern State University alumna AprilJessup Giddens, a sixth grade English/language artsteacher at Natchitoches Magnet School, was recognizedas Louisiana’s 2012 Teacher of the Year duringthe fifth annual Cecil J. Picard Educator ExcellenceSymposium and Celebration. Giddens earned abachelor’s degree in elementary education at Northwesternin 1996 and a master’s degree in 1998. Duringher 15-year teaching career, she taught at NSUMiddle Lab School and for the last four years hasbeen at Natchitoches Magnet.“I feel so blessed to be chosen. It’s very humblingand I’m very excited,” Giddens said. “Thiscasts a positive light on Natchitoches and on Northwestern.”“Teachers like Ms. Giddens are the backbone ofour educational system,” said Acting State Superintendentof Education Ollie Tyler. “She and othersare shaping the lives and future of our children, andwe enjoy thanking them in this very special way.”Giddens was selected from 24 regional finalistsfor Louisiana Teacher of the Year. She submitted aportfolio May 27 and went through an interview processprior to the symposium, which concluded witha banquet and the awards ceremony. Also announcedduring the event were the 2011 Superintendent ofthe Year, and the 2012 Teachers and Principals ofthe Year for elementary, middle and high school.Giddens’ principal Julee Wright (1983), a finalist forPrincipal of the Year, and Natchitoches Parish Superintendentof Schools Dr. Derwood Duke (1974) werepresent when the award was presented.Included among the many prizes Giddensreceives are use of a Mercedez-Benz for one year, aSMART Board TM with projector and software fromSMART Technologies and $5,000 from DreamTeachers, a non-profit organization that recognizesLouisiana educators and educational leaders.The SMART technology and software “will be akey component in my classroom this fall,” Giddenssaid. “There are parents whose children I will haveas students this year who have let me know howexcited they are.”A graduate of Florien High School in 1992,Giddens is married to Mike Giddens, a 1994 Northwesterngraduate, and has three children, Hannah,Timothy and Emma. She credited the exceptionalteachers she had at Florien, as well as her facultymentors at Northwestern, for her success.“There are teachers I had at Florien and at Northwesternwho were strong role models for me,” she said. “I feel like Ineed to thank all those teachers for preparing me.”“These distinguished educators and educational leadersare a fine representation of the high-quality teachers andprincipals we are fortunate to have in Louisiana,” said PennyDastugue, president of the Board of Elementary and SecondaryEducation. “We should all thank them and recognizethem for their hard work to improve the lives and futures ofLouisiana’s children.”In April 2012, Giddens represents Louisiana at the NationalTeacher of the Year event in Washington, D.C., whereshe and other top teachers from around the country will beintroduced to President Barak Obama.“I wish every teacher could get this award,” Giddenssaid. “There are so many deserving teachers out there.”6 / Alumni Columns Fall 2011 Visit our website at:
Campus NewsTrecey RewA champ on and off the fieldTrecey Rew’s collegiate resume islong, and strong.Her NSU track and field career concludedthis summer with a spectaculartrifecta: winning a national championship,earning Academic All-Americahonors, and being named the nationalfield events scholar-athlete of the year.The icing on the cake came in earlyAugust, when the Garland, Texas, nativewas named the NCAA Division I FieldEvents Women’s Scholar-Athlete ofthe Year by the U.S. Track & Field andCross Country Coaches Association.Rew won the NCAA discus titlewith a school-record of 192-4 throw onJune 8. She also earned second-teamAll-America honors in the shot put byfinishing 15 th at the 2011 NCAA Championshipsin Des Moines, Iowa.After graduating in May 2010 witha 3.86 grade point average in broadcastjournalism, Rew posted a perfect 4.0 inher first year pursuing a master’s degreein sport administration.Later in June, Rew was voted tothe Capital One Academic All-AmericaTrack and Cross Country Team as asecond-team Academic All-Americaselection. She was listed on one of three15-woman teams chosen by a CollegeSports Information Directors of Americapanel.Rew earned the 13 th AcademicAll-America Award by an NSU studentathletesince 1986. It is the first won byan NSU track and field competitor inwhat is traditionally one of the toughestAcademic All-America teams to make.A third of the 45 women honored haveperfect 4.0 GPAs, including seven on thefirst team.Voting for Academic All-America isdone by a national CoSIDA committee,which considers first-team All-Districtwinners from eight regions around thenation.Rew is the first Lady Demon to capturea national title. She gave the Northwesterntrack and field program its thirdNCAA crown and first since 1990, whenwww.northwesternalumni.comBrian Brown won the NCAA Indoorchampionship with a 7-8 leap in the highjump. Brown also won the 1989 USAOutdoor title by clearing 7-7.The first NCAA track and fieldchampionship captured by NSU came in1981, when the foursome of Victor Oatis,Joe Delaney, Mario Johnson and MarkDuper won it all in the 4x100 meterrelay. NSU remains the only FCS-levelDivision I school to win an NCAA relaytitle, indoors or outdoors.Rew swept the SouthlandConference Indoor and OutdoorTrack and Field Student-Athlete of the Year honors.She finished her career witheight individual Southlandtitles, winning the conferenceField Event Athleteof the Year award in thefinal three SLC championshipsshe entered.The Louisiana Sports WritersAssociation named her the2011 state Female Field EventsAthlete of the Year on the All-Louisiana Team.She is a three-timeAll-America recip- i-ent in the sport by virtueher finishes in the shot put anddiscus at the last two NCAAOutdoor Championships. Shewas ninth in the 2010 NCAAmeet in the shot put.The school and SouthlandConference record holder in bothevents, she has personal bests of192-4 in the discus and 57-0 ¼ inthe shot. Competing against someof the world’s best in late June atthe USA Track and Field Championships,Rew finished seventh in thediscus and 15 th in the shot put.Rew will remain in graduateschool at NSU and will train forinternational competition heading intothe 2012 Olympic year. She ultimatelyplans to go into coaching.ofTrecey Rew met with anotherNSU alumnus who won anNCAA track championship,Dr. Brian Brown, who is nowmeet director of the DrakeRelays in Des Moines, Ia.,and was a co-administratorof the NCAA Championships.Photo by Bryan Wayne, NCAA.NCAA champTrecey RewAlumni Columns Fall 2011 / 7
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Magazine Fall 2011 Northwestern State University of Louisiana

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