Erica Vatella, recent graduate, was awarded the James Madison Memorial Fellowship. The Fellowship allocates up to $24,000 toward a master's degree in social studies education.
The Fellowship is named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and a signer of the Constitution. It is given each year to one person from every state. The Fellowship is typically awarded to secondary school teachers who are dedicated to teaching the Constitution and American history.
Vatella's academic advisor, Jada Kohlmeier, said she encouraged Vatella to apply for the Fellowship.
"She has a lot of gifts and strengths in developing complex lessons that are inquiry based, where students are investigating problems," Kohlmeier said.
According to Kohlmeier, coming up with lessons that make students care about history is the hardest part of teaching.
"Social studies, in national polls, tends to be the least popular courses for students, particularly 7th through 12th grade students, because they find it very hard and irrelevant," Kohlmeier said.
Kohlmeier said she thought the strengths Vatella demonstrated during her undergraduate at Auburn would help her create a classroom in which students care about history.
John Saye, professor of Social Science Education, agreed.
"Erica is extremely bright," Saye said. "She really knows her content. She's really diligent in working through difficulties that come up with teaching."
Saye said he feels the study of history is under appreciated.
"Too often when people think back on their experiences in history it's just a bunch of memorization and a lot of names and dates, but history is really a tool that helps you understand today," Saye said. "The more teachers we get like Erica to do just that, the better chance we have of changing that perception."
Vatella said if she can teach her students one thing, it would be that history does matter.
"It's not just learning about a bunch of dead people," Vatella said. "I want them to learn it still matters and can teach us lessons for today."
Vatella said teaching the Constitution to future generations is especially important.
According to Vatella, without an understanding of the Constitution, students will be unable to understand current political events.
"It's the basis of our country," Vatella said.
The Fellowship will cover Vatella's tuition for graduate school.
"It is a pretty great honor that I won," Vatella said. "It means I get to continue my education, which will hopefully contribute to me being a better teacher."
Kohlmeier has helped two other University students win the Fellowship.
Kohlmeier herself was also a recipient.
She said it helped her earn her teaching certificate from Kansas University and her master's degree from Washington University in Saint Louis.
Years later, through legislation passed in Kansas, it helped Kohlmeier obtain her doctorate.
"It really paid dividends for a long time for me," Vatella said. "I think it's an example of when the public invests in education and in teachers."
Vatella will be continuing her education with Auburn University's graduate program while teaching American History at Auburn High School for 10th and 11th grades.
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