2012 Award Recipients

TAMPA, Fla. (October 10, 2012) – The USF College of Education (COEDU) is pleased to announce the Eighth Annual Outstanding Latino/a Educator (OLÉ) Awards.  The awards are given annually to outstanding Latino/a COEDU students who demonstrate exceptional performance and potential in the areas of teaching, research, and service.  The criteria for the awards are posted on the section About the OLE Awards.

Congratulations to our OLE Award recipients. They are an impressive and inspirational group. Winners and honorable mention in the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level are listed below.

Undergraduate Level

OLE Award Winner: Jazmina Irizarry is completing her bachelor’s degree in Social Science Education. A student whose Cuban and Puerto Rican background is a source of pride, Jazmina is a certified lifeguard and gives back to her community by organizing swim events, family nights, and conducting in-service training and courses. She is currently completing her final teaching internship and will be graduating Summa Cum Laude in December.

Master's Level

OLE Award Winner: Luis Oliva-Ramos will be graduating with a master’s degree in Social Science Education in December.  A native of Cuba, Luis is a teacher in Manatee County at a school with large numbers of Latino/a students, many of whom are immigrants. He has a keen interest in the education of diverse populations and promotes a culturally responsive approach to teaching. He is also involved in a number of service organizations and projects such as Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society, the Great American Clean-Up, and the Florida Blood Services.

Honorable Mention: Vanializ Agramonte is pursuing a master’s degree in Social Science Education. At USF, she serves as a REACH Peer Educator in the Wellness Education department, a data collector for the Teacher Coaching Project, a member of the Undergraduate Research Board, and as an assessor at the Center for Urban Transportation Research. Of Dominican and Puerto Rican background, Vanializ also volunteers at the YMCA Community Learning Center in Sulphur Springs, the Jump Start University Experience, and at Tropic Isles Elementary.

Doctoral Level

OLE Award Winner: Vanessa Vernaza-Hernández, a native of Puerto Rico, is pursuing her Ph.D. in Science Education with an interest in coastal areas, climate change, and the teaching of science. She has participated in a number of research projects and has presented her work in a number of important scholarly venues to great acclaim. Vanessa is also involved in several service projects that benefit not only Latinos, but the community at large as well.

Honorable Mention: Tara Payor is completing a Ph.D. in English Education.  Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York, Tara taught Language Arts for several years at the high school level and has also taught composition and literature courses at the community college level. At USF, Tara has taught four different courses in English Education and recently traveled to Washington D.C. as a part of the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project’s (TBAWP) advocacy committee to meet with members of Congress and legislative aides.

HSO Receives Honorary OLE Award at USF

Sonia Diaz and Michelle Robinson accepting the symbolic
OLE Award presented by Victor Hernandez,
OLE Committee Chair

Tampa, FL. (October 18, 2011). The Verizon Hispanic Support Organization (HSO), Florida Chapter, was recognized with an honorary Outstanding Latino/a Educator (OLE) Award at the 7th Annual Outstanding Latino/a Educator Awards event celebrated on October 12th, 2011 at the TECO Room in the College of Education.

The OLE Awards are given annually to students who have demonstrated exceptional performance and great potential in the areas of teaching, research, and service. One award is given at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level; and an honorary mention is also given in each category. The OLE Awards have become highly regarded and they are a source of pride for recipients, their families, faculty, the college, and for the community supporting the educational advancement of Latinos. For this year’s recipients you may visit a related posting about the 2011 Award Recipients.

This year, the OLE Awards Committee decided to also recognize the Verizon Hispanic Support Organization (HSO) for supporting the OLE Awards and for promoting Latino education in the greater Tampa Bay area. During the earlier years of the OLE Awards, there were times when the OLE Committee had difficulty securing sufficient support for the OLE scholarship awards. In recent years, this has not been an issue thanks to the continued commitment of the Verizon Hispanic Support Organization to sponsor the OLE Awards. This year—in particular—in a demonstration of its strong commitment to supporting the OLE Awards, in addition to funding the scholarships for the Awards, the organization also invited all nominees and OLE Committee members to a Hispanic Support Organization Banquet to celebrate the Hispanic heritage in the community and recognize outstanding Latinos and Latinas in the area. This is quite an investment in the Latino community, and the OLE Committee felt it was important to recognize that commitment.

This is even more remarkable given the fact that, although the group is associated with Verizon, the organization is an employee-funded endeavor. HSO is a grassroots Verizon employee resource group seeking the advancement of Hispanic employees and improving their communities. And the OLE Committee wanted to show its appreciation to HSO for supporting the advancement of Latino education in the College of Education at USF. To that end, the OLE Committee also presented the organization with a symbolic award for the group’s work in promoting Latino education in the community. Michelle Robinson, President; and Sonia Diaz, Treasurer, received the award on behalf of HSO.

Dean Colleen Kennedy Receives Honorary OLE Award

Dean Colleen Kennedy being recognized by OLE Committee
members Carlos Zalaquett and Victor Hernandez

Tampa, FL. (October 18, 2011). Dr. Colleen Kennedy, Dean of the College of Education at the University of South Florida, received an honorary Outstanding Latina Educator (OLE) Award at the 7th Annual Outstanding Latino/a Educator Awards event celebrated on October 12th, 2011 at the TECO Room in the College of Education.

The OLE Awards are given annually to students who have demonstrated exceptional performance and great potential in the areas of teaching, research, and service. One award is given at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level; and an honorary mention is also given in each category. The OLE Awards have become highly regarded and they are a source of pride for recipients, their families, faculty, the college, and for the community supporting the educational advancement of Latinos. For this year’s recipients you may visit a related posting about the 2011 OLE Awards.

This year, the OLE Awards Committee decided to also recognize Dean Colleen Kennedy as an honorary Outstanding Latina Educator for being instrumental in advancing Latino education. She has been a champion of the OLE Awards, and most importantly, she has been successful in promoting growing enrollment of Latino students in the College of Education and ensuring a steady attainment of degrees in education year after year. Over the past three years, undergraduate and graduate Latino enrollment in the College of Education has increased 14 and 15 percent, respectively; while degrees awarded to Latino students have remained relatively constant at about 100 plus per year counting both undergraduate and graduate degrees. In fact, the USDOE ranks the College of Education 15th in the nation for degrees awarded to Latino/Hispanic students.

To put these achievements in perspective, according to the Condition of Education 2011 report, Latino high school students continue to have the highest drop out rates in the nation compared to other groups. Further, in 2009, only 8.1% of the Hispanic population in the nation had earned a bachelor’s degree and only 3.8% had earned a doctoral degree. While the number of Spanish-speaking students in schools continues to grow at about 22%, and have become the largest minority in the United States—the number of Latino/a teachers remains very low. Only about 6% of the nation’s teachers are Hispanic.

Research suggests that the more Latino teachers we have in schools, the better Latino students do, and thus the relevant work of Dean Kennedy in the College of Education preparing more Latino teachers, as well as counselors, and other professionals needed in the field. For these reasons, the OLE Awards Committee presented Dean Kennedy with a symbolic award as a token of appreciation for a job well done. Ole!