Kathy Paschall hoisted herself onto a tabletop in the back of the classroom and pointed to a makeshift solar system taped to the wall. “Why do they call Venus Earth’s twin?” she asked, pointing at one of the planets. “Because they are about the same size!” one of the high school students answered confidently. Less than a mile down the road from Paschall’s earth science class at George Wythe High School, Tally Botzer gathered a group of third graders at Swansboro Elementary to read a story about Helen Keller. Paschall and Botzer, students in the University of Mary Washington’s master’s in education program, worked in Richmond City schools during the spring semester as part of the Ukrop’s Fellowship Program. As the first two fellows in the program, the graduate students spent each day in the classroom, honing their teaching skills and gaining valuable experience. The fellowship, supported by Ukrop’s Endowment Fund of the Rappahannock Region … [Read more...]

Emily Wanger’s post-run routine is always the same: a phone call to her mother with the distance she ran that day.  The first time she called, it was one mile. Now, it is seven or more. The calls provide both advice and motivation for the University of Mary Washington freshman. “She always gives me some type of motivation or tips to improve,” Wanger said. Wanger is one of 22 students in Corey Hewson’s “Training for the Half Marathon” course at UMW. Like Wanger, most of the students in the course claimed little running experience at the start of the semester. By semester’s end they will tackle the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon in downtown Fredericksburg. For Hewson, coach of the UMW women’s soccer team, the class is more than a workout session. It’s a way for students to learn healthy living skills. “Mary Washington promotes lifelong learning,” Hewson said. “This is a part of it.” Students in the class run as a group twice a week, with … [Read more...]