December 2, 2015
SVSU selects latest class of educators for Gerstacker Fellowship
Saginaw Valley State University has named 10 K-12 educators from across Michigan to participate in the Gerstacker Fellowship program in 2016.
They will receive concentrated leadership training over a 1-year period, including a capstone international experience that will send the group to Japan in April.
Previous overseas trips have included Finland, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. These trips involve visits to educational institutions, where participants learn about international educational systems, and corporate settings, where they discover how leadership plays out in different cultural and economic settings.
Funded by an endowment from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation of Midland, the participants are known as Gerstacker Fellows and meet monthly on weekends. SVSU faculty from various disciplines instruct the group on subjects dealing with organizational leadership, ethics, finances, communication, human resources, entrepreneurship and education with a global perspective.
Those selected to participate in the program in 2016 include:
• Adair Aumock, director of Instructional Services and Technology for the Bay City Public School District
• Joseph Blaskowski, assistant principal for White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township
• Eric Bruner, principal of Coolidge Intermediate School in Ferndale
• David Ersig, a math and science teacher at the Utica Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology.
• Jennifer Geno, assistant principal at the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District
• Shawna Groulx, assistant principal at Durand High School
• Scott Harrison, a sixth grade teacher for Freeland Elementary School
• Radhika Issac, an elementary math teacher for the Clarkston Community School District
• Renee Mrozinski, principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Bangor Township
• Chunchun Tang, director of International Programs at Oxford Community Schools
Blaskowski, Geno, Mrozinski and Tang are SVSU graduates.
The participants were selected based on past academic and service accomplishments, along with outside recommendations. Supervisors nominated them.
As a result of the Gerstacker endowment, there is no charge to program participants unless they elect to have the educational experience considered for graduate credit.