June 2, 2008
Daniel Sweeney, Laura Coleman, Greg Ahlquist, and Lary Kleeman (from left), all recipients of this year’s Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching, attended the May 18 College Commencement ceremony to see some of their former high school students achieve another milestone in their academic lives.
Cynthia Czapla ‘08, a graduating senior in biomedical engineering major, still tears up when she remembers the day teacher Daniel Sweeney of Grand Island (N.Y.) Senior High School told her calculus class that students had a choice: be driven by grades or by a love of learning.
“I did come to the conclusion that I would try to learn the most and try to perform the best in each situation for the sake of learning,” Czapla said in a letter nominating Sweeney for the Singer Family Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching. “That day, Mr. Sweeney taught me one of life’s most important lessons.”
Such bonds between students and teachers are exactly why the prize was created in 2007.
“The Paul Singer Family Foundation feels strongly that while devoted secondary school teachers play a vital role in the intellectual development of American society, they often receive little recognition or acclaim for their endeavors,” says Gordon Singer, son of Rochester alumnus Paul Singer, about the prize.
A May 17 ceremony to honor the award winners included introductions by appreciative students with the presentation of a plaque, $3,000 for each teacher, and $2,500 for each of their schools. The next day, the high school guests watched their former students receive college degrees.
“This is an awesome thing. Thanks to Mr. Singer!” called out Sweeney as he received his award. A graduate of Oswego State University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in education from Buffalo State University, he has taught at Grand Island near Niagara Falls since 1997.
All University seniors are invited to nominate a high school teacher who significantly influenced them. Completed nominations are reviewed by a committee of faculty members and students. Then, finalists are contacted for additional supporting material before winners are chosen. The Singer Family Prize is modeled after a similar one awarded at Williams College.
Graduating seniors Niall Begley, Amanda Carey, Jeffrey Keesom, and Melanie Stuart also took the podium at the ceremony to praise their former teachers who won the prize.
Begley, who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and Keesom, who earned double degrees in computer science and political science, nominated the same person: Greg Ahlquist, a world history and humanities teacher at Webster Thomas High School in Webster, N.Y. “He treated all of his students with respect,” recalled Keesom, “and his passion and excitement for history is unparalleled and was apparent from the very first class with him.”
Ahlquist, who has a bachelor’s degree in history from SUNY Geneseo and a master’s degree in medieval history from Syracuse University, has taught at Webster Thomas since 2000. In 2006-07, he was selected first runner-up as New York State’s Teacher of the Year.
Carey, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, recommended Laura Coleman, her biology teacher at Greece Athena High School in Greece, N.Y. “She was able to reach beyond the classroom to touch her students on a personal level,” Carey said, “not only influencing their academic lives, but being a solid adult figure who we knew we could always go to and rely on.”
Coleman’s guidance, Carey remembered, built a strong biology club and aided students when they tackled extracurricular projects and fund-raisers that helped people in need. After 32 years in the Greece Central School District, Coleman—who also taught biology to Amanda’s mother—retired last June. She is now an adjunct professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.
The only Singer award winner not teaching in New York State, Lary Kleeman, was nominated by Stuart, a philosophy major. “What makes Mr. Kleeman so singularly admirable is his kindness, compassion, love of life, and humanity outside of the classroom as much as in,” she wrote to the selection committee.
Kleeman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado State University and a master of fine arts in poetry from the University of Montana in Missoula, joined the Peace Corps after college—a path that eventually led to teaching. For more than a decade, he has taught Advanced Placement English at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., a suburb of Denver.
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