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Center for Mathematics and Science Education
The University of Mississippi

Current Students

The Center for Mathematics and Science Education provides many opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Mississippi. Students that have been selected and are are currently participating in one or more of these opportunities are listed below.

Graduate Research Fellows

Graduate Research Fellow – Mathematics. Bethany LaValley

Bethany LaValley

Graduate Research Fellow – Mathematics
Jackson Avenue Center, Suite Q
lavalley@go.olemiss.edu
662-915-6621

Bethany LaValley is originally from Bruce, MS but currently resides in Pittsboro, MS, with her husband, Randall, and her son, Jonah. In 2012, Bethany began working at the CMSE as a Graduate Research Fellow in pursuit of her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction (MACI) with an emphasis in mathematics. Two years later, she graduated and began to teach middle and high school mathematics at Calhoun City High School. In 2019, Bethany returned to the CMSE as a Graduate Research Fellow to pursue a Ph.D. in Secondary Mathematics Education. Bethany has a special interest in supporting struggling learners through successful intervention methods that promote number sense and problem-solving skills. She also enjoys working with professional development and is interested in exploring cross-curricular instruction for mathematics and english language arts (ELA).

Shelby Watson

Graduate Research Fellow – Science
Jackson Avenue Center, Suite Q
sahilton@go.olemiss.edu
662-915-6621

Shelby Watson, of Eden Prairie, MN, first worked with the CMSE as a Noyce Scholar in 2016 and joined as a Graduate Research Fellow in the summer of 2019. As a Graduate Research Fellow, Shelby assists the CMSE with research, professional development sessions, and preparing pre-service teachers to teach science. Shelby earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Mississippi. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Secondary Science Education with an emphasis in chemistry. Shelby sees chemistry everywhere she looks and hopes to inspire teachers and students to recognize and apply scientific thinking in the wider world. She is also interested in making open educational resources more accessible to K-12 teachers and using technology as a tool for differentiation in secondary classrooms.

Christian Clark

Graduate Research Fellow 
Jackson Avenue Center, Suite Q
caclark4@go.olemiss.edu
662-915-6621

Christian Clark served as an undergraduate assistant, at the CMSE in the Fall of 2021. As a graduate research fellow, he assists with the K-12 STEM Experiences Division of the CMSE. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Science Education, in May 2022, at The University of Mississippi. Currently, Christian is pursuing a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Mississippi. He is interested in helping students better understand science topics through various teaching methods such as inquiry based learning.

If you are interested in applying for a CMSE Graduate Research Fellowship, please submit your application below.

Find out more about our Alumni Graduate Research Fellows.

 

Undergraduate Assistants

Erin Brechtel

B.A.Ed. Secondary Education – Science
Expected Completion: May 2023
ebrechte@go.olemiss.edu

Jet Roberts

B.A. Psychology
Expected Completion: May 2024
njrobert@go.olemiss.edu

Lydia Miller

B.S. Biomedical Engineering 
Expected Completion: May 2024
lnmille1@go.olemiss.edu

If you are interested in applying for an Undergraduate Assistantship Position with the CMSE, please submit your application.

Noyce Scholars

The NOYCE Scholarship Program responds to the critical need for K-12 teachers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by encouraging talented STEM students and professionals to pursue teaching careers in elementary and secondary schools.

The program provides funding to institutions of higher education to provide scholarships, stipends, and programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 teachers. Scholarship and stipend recipients are required to complete two years of teaching in a high-need school district for each year of support. The program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school districts.

Allison Suter
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

Robert “Jordan” Wilson
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Mathematics Education

Hannah Harrell Young
Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

Nichole Hardin
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

Trey Henry
Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) 

Katrina McCrackin
Bachelor of Science in Biology

If you are interested in becoming a NOYCE Scholar, please submit your application below.