ABOVE: Vernon-James Riley, 2008 scholarship recipient, with some of the students from Summit Academy, Brooklyn, N.Y., who traveled to the University of Hartford and Yale University to get a taste of college life.


Annette Saunooke of Cherokee, N.C., earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master’s degree from William & Mary College and is teaching high school English in Swain County, N.C.

Priscilla Noriega of Brownsville, Tex., graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in secondary education and taught at San Benito High School in San Benito, Tex., before enrolling in the University of Texas School of Law.
Ollie-Rubiah Williams, a graduate of Windsor (Conn.) High School, earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University in Philadelphia and a master's degree in education from Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, Conn. She is teaching at the Farmington Valley Diagnostic Center operated by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), in Avon, Conn., where she was named Teacher of the Year for 2008-09.

Desi Nesmith of Bloomfield, a graduate of Northwest Catholic High School, West Hartford, Conn., earned bachelor’s, master’s and post-graduate degrees in education from the University of Connecticut. He began his teaching career at Mayberry Elementary School in East Hartford, Conn., where he was named Teacher of the Year for 2005-2006. He was a teacher in residence at the State Department of Education in 2006-2007 and then served as an Intervention Specialist in the Hartford public schools for two years. In 2009, he was named principal of America's Choice SAND School, a preK-6 school in Hartford.

Chi-Ann Lin, a graduate of Newington (Conn.) High School, earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from the University of Connecticut. She is teaching history at Staples High School in Westport, Conn.

Miguel Cardona, a graduate of Wilcox Technical High School in Meriden, Conn., earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Central Connecticut State University and a master's degree in Bilingual/Bicultural Education from the University of Connecticut. He began his career as a fourth grade teacher at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden and has been serving as principal of Hanover Elementary School in Meriden since 2003.

Glenn Allen Jr., a graduate of East Hartford (Conn.) High School, earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from the University of Connecticut. He is chair of the Special Education Department and coaches football and track & field at Carson High School in the Los Angeles (Calif.) Unified School District.

Oscar Josue Rodriguez graduated from Bulkeley High School, Hartford, Conn., and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Connecticut. He is teaching English as a second language at East Hartford High School.

Sacha Kelly, a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, New York City, received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Hartford, in 2007 and a master of arts in education from Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, in 2009. She is a mathematics teacher at Big Picture High School, a public magnet school in Bloomfield, Conn.

Sibani Sengupta, Ph.D., received her Connecticut teaching certificate from the Alternate Route to Certification in 2008. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Calcutta, India, in 1990 and 1992, respectively. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in 2000 and subsequently did research as a post-doctoral fellow at the UConn Health Center. She is a science teacher and chair of the Science Department at Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden, Conn.

Vernon-James Riley, a graduate of Blessed Edmund Rice High School, Harlem, N.Y., received a bachelor of arts degree in American studies with a departmental concentration in secondary social studies education from Yale in May 2008 and a master’s degree in education from Michigan State University in 2009. He is dean of Summit Academy, a new charter middle school in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Violet Sims, a graduate of E.C. Goodwin Technical High School, New Britain, Conn., received a bachelor’s degree in theater studies and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Connecticut, where she was employed before obtaining her Connecticut teaching certificate through the Alternate Route to Certification in May 2007. She is a Spanish teacher at New Britain High School, where she also has taught a class for students considering teaching careers.

Giulietta Romero, a graduate of Windham High School in Willimantic, Conn., has a bachelor’s degree and a master's degree from the University of Connecticut and is a kindergarten teacher at Robinson Elementary School in Manchester, Conn.

Santosha Oliver, Ph.D., a graduate of Manchester (Conn.) High School, holds a B.S. degree in biology from Morgan State University and a Ph.D. in genetics and developmental biology from the University of Connecticut. She earned her Connecticut teaching certificate in the Alternate Route to Certification and is teaching biology, genetics and forensics at East Hartford High School.

Blenda Chau of Danbury, Conn., earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in education from the University of Connecticut.

Zakia Parrish, Ph.D., of Gary, Ind., holds under-graduate and graduate degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Purdue University. She earned her Connecticut teaching certificate in the Alternate Route to Certification and is teaching science at Hill Regional Career High School, New Haven, Conn.

Angelica Gibbs of New Haven, Conn., has a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College and a master’s degree from Lesley University. She is teaching and planning in a Citizen Schools program and is also teaching Spanish at Media Arts and Technology High School (MATCH School) in Boston.

Nadine Rosa of Meriden, Conn., has earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Southern Connecticut State University, and is a special education teacher at Platt High School in Meriden.

Han-Ya Annie Hsu holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University. She is chief of staff in the Office of the Provost at the Asian University for Women, in Chittagong, Bangladesh, which serves underpriviledged women from across Asia.