After two years of presenting awards to outstanding students virtually, Honors Convocation will return to an in-person format at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 8, in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena and Convocation Hall, with a keynote by Dr. Katrina Allen-White, a principal with the Syracuse City School District who earned three education degrees from SUNY Oswego.
Honors Convocation recognizes Oswego student award winners and those who have demonstrated excellence in their field of study or in service to the college community. Awards from departments, the Oswego Alumni Association, Oswego College Foundation and Division of Extended Learning, as well as Chancellor's Awards for Student Excellence, mark this joyous celebration of academic success.
Allen-White, a lifelong educator with more than two decades of experience, began her career as a daily substitute teacher, working her way into a position as science teacher at Grant Middle School in Syracuse. She moved into school administration as an administrative intern, then as a vice principal and now as a principal in the Syracuse City School District. In her roles, she was integral in helping improve student behavior and academic performance by helping other teachers and school leaders improve their instructional practices.
Allen-White earned a bachelor’s in elementary education with a concentration in physics from SUNY Oswego in 2001, and a master’s degree in integrating technology in the classroom from Walden University in 2004. She returned to Oswego to earn a certificate of advanced study in school building leadership in 2011 and completed the New York State Superintendent Development Program in 2016.
She recently earned her doctorate in educational leadership at St. John Fisher College. Her dissertation research focuses on the analysis of K-12 educators who serve as curriculum adoption committee members and how their level of empowerment correlates to the level of culturally responsive practices used when adopting English Language Arts materials for students in grades 3 to 5.
Allen-White is a proud wife and mother to two sets of twins and one stepdaughter. She believes that it takes love, positivity and compassion to help people to become the best version of themselves.
The spring Honors Convocation dates back to the mid-1960s, when it first evolved into its current format in modernizing what was previously known as "Moving Up Day." For all those decades, the Vega Women's Honor Society has sponsored the ceremony.