Worcester State Magazine – 150th Anniversary

Assistant professor of English, 2023 Alden Award Winner Riley McGuire’s original plan was to become a high school teacher, but along the way, his professors encouraged him to consider teaching college. With the support of a loving mother and exceptional mentors, McGuire, a first-gen student who had rhotacism and lambdacism in school, earned a Ph.D. […]

Professor of Biology, 2020 Alden Award Winner When biology professor Jennifer Hood-DeGrenier was in college, she was taught in traditional ways—chalkboards, lectures, note taking. She knows those teaching approaches aren’t particularly effective for many students, so, over the years, Hood-Degrenier has experimented with different strategies to engage students in the classroom.  “I want to get […]

Associate Professor of English, 2020 Alden Award Winner Midway through Christina Santana’s college education, she received a piece of advice from her first mentor, an architecture professor. She went to him after a frustrating experience giving a presentation to a different faculty member who had not understood her work. Her mentor told her: Teach, don’t […]

Professor of History, 2022 Alden Award Winner When Erika Briesacher, professor of history, hands back corrected papers, she asks students to look beyond the grade. “I write all over them, and when they get it back and see that at first, they’re like, ‘I’ve failed,’ and then they flip to the grade and think, ‘Wait […]

Professor of English, 2017 Alden Award Winner Heather Treseler is a professor of English and a multi award-winning poet who has studied under preeminent authors, including the novelist Saul Bellow and literary critic Maud Ellmann. At Worcester State, she views her students as literary collaborators. “I think of my students as fellow writers, capable of […]

Professor of Sociology, 2018 Alden Award Winner The course titles may stay the same from year to year, but Alex Briesacher never teaches the same class twice. Briesacher, professor of sociology, uses an experiential, student-centered approach he developed as a graduate student teaching courses at Kent State University. “It means every class is new and […]

Professor of Mathematics, 2013 Alden Award Winner Maria Fung, professor of mathematics, adds a new dimension to her classes by using meditation and breathing techniques to subtract anxiety and multiply student engagement. From equations to inner peace, she’s proving that finding the right mindset equals success in numbers. Fung, who focuses on preparing K-12 teachers, […]

MAJORS: Sociology, Nonprofit Management PROFESSIONAL; Marine Officer Instructor, College of the Holy Cross Officer in Charge of Evacuation Control Center in Afghanistan VOLUNTEER: Youth Baseball Games Umpire Worcester State gave me the opportunity to learn about myself and the kind of person I wanted to be. I was able to meet people in all stages […]

  MAJOR: Communication PROFESSIONAL: Chief of Staff, City of Worcester, City Manager’s Office Worcester State changed the way I see the world. The professors challenged me academically and ideologically. I made lifelong friendships, and because of the practical and thoughtful guidance of my academic advisors, I landed a job right out of college that set […]

MAJOR: Health Science and Health Education PROFESSIONAL: Health Policy Analyst, Executive Director, Medicaid|Medicare|CHIP Services Dental Association When I was a young mother with five children, Worcester State provided the opportunity for me to further my education, maintain employment as a dental hygienist, and be attentive to my family. I met an array of students and […]