RU senior Haley O’Brien has won the Virginia Scholar Award, presented to a graduate who promises to be “a key woman educator.”
Radford University senior Haley O’Brien has won the prestigious Virginia Scholars Award, presented to an “outstanding graduate with the promise of being a key woman educator.”
The award is presented by the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. DKG is a worldwide professional honor society of women educators. Its mission is to promise the professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education.
O’Brien will graduate in May with a degree in education. She is a 2016 graduate of Radford High School. She is to be married in July and plans on teaching in the area.
The announcement of O’Brien’s selection was made by her professor, Dr. Ryan C. Smith, an associate professor in Radford University’s School of Teacher Education and Leadership. He nominated her for the award. In offering his congratulations to O’Brien, Smith said, “I cannot think of a more outstanding award winner.”
The criteria for the award include excellence in the classroom based on grades and the student’s GPA; the student’s employment experience; the student’s practicum and student teaching performance; the student’s community and extracurricular activities; the student’s character traits and how they are commensurate with the teaching profession; and the student’s overall potential in the field of education.