Alumni Profiles
Kathleen A. Dolgos
- Ed.D in Foundations of Education91
After completing the Ed.D in Foundations of Education, Kathleen joined the faculty of Kutztown University as a member of the Secondary Education Department. She had the opportunity to be the chairperson for both the Secondary and Elementary Education Departments during the 21 years at the University. In addition, she was honored to be the recipient of the Kutztown University’s Arthur and Isabel Wiesenberger Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2002. She also received the Alpha Epsilon Lambda Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication to the Cause of Graduate Education and had the opportunity to be the Graduate Commencement Speaker in 2008. Over the years, she has had some very unique experiences which include two faculty exchanges with the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, Russia, teaching within a London travel abroad experience, and teaching in a ski village outside of Innsbruck, Austria as part of another travel abroad experience. Having taught graduate research for many years, Kathleen has worked with numerous Lehigh doctoral students as they completed their dissertation work. Other adventures have included working with the Pennsylvania Department of Education in chairing various accreditation teams and being a reviewer for institution accreditation. Her most interesting publication has been the co-editorship of a cookbook entitled A Taste of Hungary. Retiring recently, she looks forward to a new direction.
Michael Fouchet
- M.Ed., Secondary Education (Math)14
Mike Fouchet is a lifelong learner with an interest in just about everything. Hailing from a small town, Southold, on Long Island, Mike came to Lehigh University for his undergraduate degree in mathematics and minored in philosophy. He enrolled in Lehigh's TLT 5-year Master's program and will receive his M.Ed in secondary mathematics education.
As an undergrad at Lehigh, Mike worked in Admissions helping interview prospective students, in Student Center Facilities as a building supervisor, and as a TA in the philosophy department helping teach a Symbolic Logic course. He also worked with the Office of the First-Year Experience as an Orientation Leader and Orientation Coordinator and now holds the office's Graduate Assistant position, where he is planning programs for new students and developing training sessions for student leaders.
In his free time, Mike plays with Pokemon cards, writes spoken word poetry, and takes free online courses.
Bridget O’Connell
- Ed.D., Educational Leadership07
- M.A., Secondary Education97
- B.A, English & Anthropology95
Dr. Bridget O’Connell has been the Superintendent of Palisades School District since 2011; she served as the Assistant Superintendent responsible for Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction prior to assuming the Superintendent’s position. The school district she leads covers one-hundred square miles and is mainly a rural area encompassing approximately 9,000 households. Student achievement remains an important goal for Dr. O’Connell and the Palisades School District. To that end, Dr. O’Connell has led the charge to offer more flexible scheduling for students through providing on line course options as part of the district’s rigorous curriculum. Under her stewardship, student achievement has continued to surpass benchmarks set for public schools by the state of Pennsylvania and the district’s standardized test scores remain high. Preparing students for their future, whether they attend a post-secondary institution, enter the military or become part of the workforce is the mission of the district under Bridget’s leadership.
Also, in her position as Superintendent, Dr. O’Connell fosters community outreach by meeting regularly with area business leaders, students and parents, local police, firefighters, and emergency responders, township supervisors, local legislators and other stakeholders in the community. Sharing what is happening in the Palisades schools is an important part of building partnerships and maintaining relationships to promote leadership opportunities for students.
Dr. O’Connell has received numerous awards during her tenure as Superintendent. Most recently, she was awarded both the Leadership Excellence Award and the 2013 Real Heroes Award by the Red Cross for her commitment to providing food and shelter to the residents of Palisades during Hurricane Sandy. She has also received the Blended Schools Leadership Award by the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development for her leadership in providing online courses and the Cooperative Leadership Award by the National School Development Council.
Dr. O’Connell continues her affiliation with Lehigh University through serving as the 1995 Class Correspondent and teaching as an adjunct professor in the College of Education.
Allison Schwartz
- B.S., Political Science09
- M.Ed., Secondary Education10
It is difficult to imagine that I received my Master’s degree in 2010, just three years ago, given the incredible teaching experiences I’ve been privileged to enjoy. Upon graduating in May 2010, I moved to Boston and in three weeks I found a job teaching at the Brooks School in North Andover. Brooks is a private boarding school, known for its small class sizes, beautiful campus, and top-scale facilities. They offered me a full-time instructor position teaching, on my own, Pre-modern World History and Advanced Placement US Government and Politics. I lived in a restored farm house in the middle of campus. Dedicated faculty were committed to my success and taught me how to handle the many unpredictable ups and downs that come with being a first year faculty member. I worked 24/7, coached two sports, had several advisees, was a dorm parent, had Saturday classes, and was an active participant in the Brooks way of life. Though I’ve left Brooks, I consistently hear from faculty and students. After two years in North Andover, I gave into my urge to move to New York City. Currently, I reverse commute and work at a private day school for girls, School of the Holy Child, situated on a lovely campus in Rye. I teach Global History and Geography and American History, coach varsity tennis, and have been warmly embraced by the faculty, the girls, the parents and my headmaster. Not being a coed school, SHC fosters an atmosphere of support and community that allows my students to grow up and become responsible young women. And I received a fully paid scholarship to attend a two week leadership program sponsored by the Klingenstein Institute this summer. Not bad, for my first year. There’s no question that my Lehigh School of Education experience has served me very well. I learned how to teach from my professors and mentors, to be brave enough to try new methods, and above all to be myself. I hope to keep learning and improving and build upon my Lehigh base.
Kristin Smith
- M.Ed. in Special Education and Special Education15
- Pennsylvania State PreK-8 Certification/Elementary Education Pennsylvania State PreK-4 Certification15
My love of teaching began in early elementary school. As a third grader, I wanted to become a teacher and inspire children to love learning, just as my own teacher had done for me.
In 2007, I received a BA in Sociology with a minor in Spanish from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA. Upon graduation, I worked as a Residential Child Care Counselor for KidsPeace with children experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties, where I provide direct supervision and care to behaviorally and emotionally disturbed youth in a residential setting, facilitated therapeutic groups/meetings, provided individual counseling, assisted in crisis management, taught basic life skills, social skills, anger management skills, and conflict resolution skills, and collaborated with members of the treatment team in developing individualized treatment plans.
In 2011, I became a teacher at Bethlehem Christian School and had the opportunity to teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. In that role, I created engaging lessons for my students, strove to build relationships with my students, and challenged them to think critically about the world around them. Additionally, I collaborated with teachers to develop weekly chapel services, campus-wide events, and both academic and behavioral interventions for students.
In 2013, I became a teaching associate at Centennial School of Lehigh University within the Middle School Program. Centennial School serves children and youth with educational disabilities including emotional disturbance and autism. In this position, I collaborate with members of the middle school team to implement a school-wide positive behavior support system which fosters a positive, safe school environment for all students, provide direct instruction of academic materials to students through engaging and standard-aligned lessons, regularly monitor student academic and behavioral performance, and communicate with families and members of the IEP team regarding student progress on their individualized goals.
Megan Stotz
- Ph.D., Teaching, Learning, and Technology15
Megan Stotz has always had a love of teaching. In 2001, Megan received a B.A. with honors in Elementary Education from the University of Tampa. Upon graduation, she worked as an elementary school teacher where she developed her love of teaching literacy. After several years in the classroom, Megan became a Reading Coach for Hillsborough County, FL. This role allowed Megan the opportunity to provide professional development workshops throughout the state of Florida.
Megan earned her M.A. with honors in K-12 Reading at the University of South Florida in 2008. During this time, Megan was voted Teacher of the Year. After moving to the Nashville area in 2008, her teaching style and ability to integrate technology quickly became a model classroom where educators throughout the state came to observe.
In 2012, Megan began pursuing her doctorate in Teaching, Learning, & Technology at Lehigh University where she focuses on effective technology integration with early elementary students. Currently, Megan is the Student Teacher Supervisor at Penn State Brandywine where she mentors interning teachers.
Karina Torres
- M.Ed., Secondary Education (Social Studies)14
In 2013, Karina enrolled at Lehigh's College of Education to pursue her career goal of entering into the teaching profession. She is currently working on obtaining her Master's in Secondary Education with a social studies certification. Karina obtained her B.A. in Educational Studies and Hispanic Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in May of 2012. After graduating from Trinity, she returned home to Bethlehem to work and continue with her studies.
Since September of 2012 Karina has been working as a teacher's aide at the Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School (LVDLCS). She has held several positions as a teacher and tutor prior to working at LVDLCS. She has always been drawn to the teaching profession.
Her inspiration has been Paulo Freire, who advocated for a vision of education as liberation. As such, she aims to incorporate that same ideology into her own education and work.