Recent MSED Alum Making an Impact as Fellow

Chris Priedemann MSED ’10 knows he has a passion for teaching. The prestigious Knowles Science Teaching Foundation knows he has the talent to make a big impact in the field.

The recent graduate of the SUNY Oswego master’s program in education is entering his third year of a Knowles Fellowship worth up to $150,000. Only about two dozen of the five-year fellowships are awarded each year nationwide.

The foundation selects “a highly accomplished group of educators … [who are] redefining teaching by bringing a high level of commitment and enthusiasm to their profession,” according to the Knowles Foundation website.

“I think it’s a testament to the program we have at Oswego,” said Priedemann, who is one of two Knowles fellows with Oswego connections. “We’re right up there with the Ivy League schools when it comes to teaching.”

Current graduate student David Streib MSED ’10 was recently selected as a Knowles fellow. He joins only three New York state students and 32 nationwide who were named fellows in 2010.

The fellowships provide tuition assistance and financial support for professional development like intensive conferences and workshops. Fellows engage in lesson study on a particular subject that they will share with peers across the country.

“All of our ideas keep coming back to the same place. And that is: How are we going to get our students to remember these things 10 years from now?” said Priedemann, who earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in science from Furman University in South Carolina. And how does one make those lasting impressions?

“You have to make it authentic,” he said. “’I’m going to teach you the skills and tools you need to solve these problems and we’re going to look at it through the lens of chemistry.’”

Priedemann decided to pursue his master’s in education at Oswego because of its reputation and a little family history too. Grandparents John ’51 and Rose Valiante Bente ’53 are both proud graduates of the School of Education, he said.

Priedemann will stay in Upstate New York as he begins teaching at Green Tech High Charter School in Albany this fall. The work he’s done during his fellowship is already paying dividends as he prepares for the school year, he said.

“It’s become more of a way of life than just an educational opportunity,” Priedemann said.

— Shane M. Liebler

PHOTO CAPTION:
Chris Priedemann MSED '10 is in the third year of the prestigious Knowles Fellowship program. His grandparents also attended Oswego.