November 8, 2016
Marsh Wins NCCTM Eastern Region Outstanding Mathematics Education Student Award
Sarah Marsh, a senior BS Mathematics Education major at East Carolina, has been named the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Eastern Region Outstanding Mathematics Education Student Award. Sarah is not only a mathematics education major at ECU, she is a triple major: mathematics education, mathematics, and psychology.
Sarah Marsh
The NCCTM student award is an effort to encourage student enjoyment of mathematics and mathematics education and it recognizes outstanding mathematics education students at colleges and universities across the state. Each college and university with a teacher education program may nominate one rising junior or senior working towards elementary, middle school, or secondary certification. One student is selected from each region, and the winning students are recognized and receive their awards (plaque and cash) at the State Conference.
The NCCTM nomination and award process puts emphasis on academic excellence (both overall and in mathematics course work) and contributions to the mathematics and mathematics education programs at the local institution, NCCTM involvement, and personal and leadership qualities. Sarah’s academic excellence includes the triple major and her current GPA, which if graduating today, would qualify her for summa cum laude distinction. In addition, she has won several merit-based mathematics and mathematics education scholarships and has been nominated for prestigious honor societies. Sarah has served on the NCCTM Board of Directors is currently president of the Gamma Chapter, ECU’s NCCTM affiliate. She has volunteered for a number of mathematics education service projects, and worked in both the Mathematics, Science, and Instructional Technology Education (MSITE) department office and lab and the Department of Mathematics Math CAVE. In her spare time, she tutors students in mathematics, swims on the ECU Club Swim Team, and serves as an official for youth soccer.
A mathematics education professor who wrote a letter of recommendation for the Marsh nomination noted that after having her in class:
“I was so impressed by Ms. Marsh that I wanted to mentor her and serve as her academic advisor. Ms. Marsh enjoys learning. She enjoys tutoring mathematics. She enjoys sports, people, and new experiences. As impressive as her scholarship and her range of interests, is her commitment to mathematics education. Ms. Marsh always comes to advising appointments with a myriad of questions about possibilities. She has asked about doctoral programs in mathematics education.”
At the award ceremony, Sarah was described as the, “embodiment of the type of future teacher we are excited to honor.”