Showcase!!!

One of the highlights of the Smithsonian Faculty Fellowship is Showcase, when each Fellow has the opportunity to present their work to the Montgomery College Community. This year was no different as Chairs, Deans, family, friends and the 2020 SFF Cohort gathered to hear presentations from the 2019 group of Smithsonian Faculty Fellows.

The 2019 theme was, “The Search for an American Identity: Building a Nation Together.”  On Thursday afternoon, February 27, our 2019 Fellows talked about the  theme-based projects and assignments they developed as a result of their participation in the program.

Guests were welcomed by Sara Ducey, Director of the Paul Peck Humanities Institute and College-wide Chair for Integrative Studies. Each Fellow was then introduced by Mimi Mann, Coordinator of the Montgomery College-Smithsonian Faculty Fellowship.   Presenting were:

Alison Melley (Psychology, GT): Cultural Narratives in Identity Development: Becoming Learners, Teachers, and Helping Professionals.

Michelle Prendergast (English, GT): The Search for the American Dream

Hoa Nguyen (Economics, RV): What Does “Made in America” Mean?

Matt Decker (English, TPSS): From Identity Exploration to Impactful Issue Discovery: Using the Smithsonian’s Resources to Reinvigorate Writing

Jarek Michalonek (ELAP): Stories without Words: De-coding American Identity through Portraiture

Megan Howard (English, RV): What’s your American Story: Defining American Identity in ENGL101A

Genesis Powers (ELAP, TPSS): Negotiating American Freedom and Identity

Tracie Witte (Sociology, RV): Struggles to Shape an American Identity

Our MC team of Sara Ducey, Mimi Mann and Denise Dewhurst (Co-coordinator, SFF) and our Smithsonian Institute partner, Philippa Rappaport thank the 2019 Cohort  for a wonderful year of  discovery, culminating in outstanding work  that will continue to impact our students in countless ways.