WINONA LAKE, Indiana — Jena Stevenson, of Niles and 2013 graduate of Granger Christian School, recently received the Outstanding Prospective Teacher Award from the School of Education at Grace College.

Stevenson, who will graduate from Grace College on Saturday, is thankful for the award and anticipates her future teaching career with excitement.

“I’m humbled by this award,” said Stevenson. “It has allowed me to consider my own efforts as well as the confidence that my professors and teachers have instilled in me. This award matters to me because it comes from those I respect and highly regard in the education and mathematics community. I’m thankful to be blessed with a God-given talent that I’ll use to encourage and teach my own students!”

After graduation, Stevenson plans to teach in Michiana.

“I hope to secure a position teaching mathematics at the high school level,” she said. “I’m excited to have my own classroom and put into practice what I have learned at Grace and in my student teaching.”

Each year, the School of Education selects one or more seniors studying education to receive the Outstanding Prospective Teacher Award. This year, three seniors were chosen. Supervisors and faculty from the School of Education selected the students based on their exemplary effort as student teachers. Each senior was given a plaque in recognition of their achievements.

“We’re very proud of the incredible effort these ladies put into their student teaching and other academic pursuits,” said Dr. Laurie Owen, dean of the School of Education at Grace College. “They exemplify Grace’s mission of competence, character and service in many ways.”

Each student rose to the top of their classes at Grace in both achievement and behavior. They also performed well on their professional exams.

Grace College education majors are taught classroom planning, instruction, management and professionalism, as well as the ability to respond to moral and ethical issues in the classroom. These skills, combined with applied learning experiences, P-12 classroom teaching and community-based service projects, provide graduates the disposition, knowledge and competences needed to be effective in the field of education.

The Grace College School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and is approved by the Association of Christian Schools International and the Indiana Department of Education.  For more information about the School of Education, call (574) 372-5100, ext. 6144.

About Grace College:

Grace College is an accredited, Christ-centered institution of higher education located in the historic lakeside town of Winona Lake, Ind.  Affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Grace College was founded in 1948.  Today Grace offers more than 70 undergraduate degrees in both traditional four-year and accelerated three-year degree formats.  Grace also offers on-campus and online graduate degrees, associate degrees and a bachelor’s degree completion program.  Grace College commuter sites are located in Indianapolis and in Akron, Ohio.  For more information, visit grace.edu.