News

Melissa Gonzales
  • Counseling Psychology
  • Global Programs

Melissa Gonzales: From Global Educator to Children's Author

With over 15 years of dedicated experience in global education, Melissa Gonzales’s career is defined by her deep love for diverse cultures and a calling to impact young lives. Melissa began her teaching journey in 2006 in Texas, where she specialized in inclusion, Pre-K, and primary education (Grades 2 and 3).

Driven by a desire to experience the world and expand her pedagogical perspective, she moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2016, teaching in both Al Ain and Dubai. Backed by a degree in Psychology alongside extensive studies in Sociology and Early Childhood Education, Melissa brings a profound understanding of human development to her current graduate studies in Lehigh’s International School Counseling program.

Lucy Norwood
  • Teaching, Learning and Technology

Lucy Norwood: Fast-Tracking a Career in Education

For sophomore Lucy Norwood, the decision to attend Lehigh University was deeply personal. Norwood grew up in Bethlehem and knew early on that her calling was in the classroom. When researching colleges, she looked for a university that could support her ambitions from day one. Norwood found that Lehigh's College of Education's 4+1 Accelerated Master's Education Program was a perfect fit, allowing her to dive into educational theory as an undergraduate before transitioning into her graduate teaching degree.

Michaela Ott
  • Educational Leadership

Michaela Ott: Choosing Lehigh Over and Over Again

Proudly born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Michaela Ott came to Lehigh University as an undergraduate and fell in love with the campus, the community, and the world-class pedagogy. When it came time to look at graduate school, the choice to stay was easy.

"I would choose Lehigh over and over again," Ott says. "I had the most incredible time as an undergraduate student, which is why I chose to stay for graduate school. The knowledge, expertise, and pedagogy I received was world-class."

Jiayan Zhu

Zhu Explores How AI Can Support Student Thinking Without Replacing It

Jiayan Zhu is a Ph.D. student in the COE's Teaching, Learning, and Technology program, where she investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) can support meaningful learning in STEM education. Her research centers on human–AI collaboration, with a particular interest in how learners can work effectively with AI while maintaining an active role in their own learning. She explores how learners can engage with AI as a collaborative peer while developing the ability to monitor their own understanding, critically evaluate AI-generated information, and make thoughtful decisions about when and how to use AI. Her work asks how AI can support learning without replacing the thinking and self-regulation that learners need to develop for themselves.