September 19, 2014
Preservice teacher walking on iCloud
For the fourth consecutive year, a deserving College of Education student has a scholarship and a new device to help him become a better teacher.
Josh Karimi, Topeka, sophomore in secondary education with a focus in speech and theatre and double minors in political science and history, received the Lawrence G. Wright Scholarship and the accompanying Doris Wright Carroll Multicultural Technology Award.
Carroll, associate professor of special education, counseling and student affairs, is following in her father's footsteps. Her family established the Lawrence G. Wright scholarship in honor of her father, who was a human resources officer for the Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka. The goal was to enhance opportunities for students with diverse backgrounds. But Carroll realized she could do more.
In 2011, Carroll established the Doris Wright Carroll Multicultural Technology Award, which provides the Lawrence G. Wright scholar with a new laptop or iPad to aid his or her academic pursuits.
"This is very exciting because our college is providing iPads for our students. But Josh will be ahead of the curve because he will have had an iPad for nearly a year by the time he starts taking his professional education courses," Carroll said.
Karimi chose an iPad Air.
"I work in the financial aid office and understand how hard paying for college can be," he said. "Any relief is greatly appreciated. But when I was first informed about the scholarship, I had to double-check to make sure that it wasn't a mistake," Karimi said. "I am very excited about this, and I'm just lucky that this year it turned out to be me."
Karimi was nominated for the award by his academic advisor Pangie Burns in the Center for Student and Professional Services, and she is emphatic that luck had nothing to do with it.
"Josh is a humble, hard working student who also is enjoying college," Burns said. "He is doing exceptionally well academically, and I was happy to nominate him for this award. He is really looking forward to teaching, and he will be a great teacher."