Faculty, students and alumni will honor exceptional alumni from the Drake University School of Education March 6 at this year’s Believers and Achievers Banquet.
The School of Education will host the event in Olmsted Center’s Parents Hall. A reception begins at 6 p.m. and will be followed by dinner and a program. Thomas A. Sletto, assistant professor of music education, will give the keynote address.
Guests are asked to RSVP by Feb. 28. Click here for more information or call Meaghan Tigges at 515-271-4843.
The following excellent educators will be honored:
- Kelly Buckland, GR ’88, is the executive director of the National Council on Independent Living. In 1988, Buckland graduated Summa Cum Laude from Drake with a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. Since graduating, he has been active in the independent living movement and the field of disability rights; he currently heads the Idaho State Independent Living Council. He has been honored with many state and national awards, including the Hewlett-Packard Distinguished Achievement in Human Rights Award and induction into the National Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame.
- Galen Howsare, GR ’95, is the chief financial officer of the Iowa Association of School Boards. Howsare earned an educational specialist degree from Drake University in 1995. He has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in Iowa public schools. Most recently, he spent 10 years as associate superintendent of administrative services at West Des Moines Community Schools. He also served as Hawkeye Community College’s vice president of finance and administration from 2006–2011.
- Tim Schott, GR ’92, ’99, ’00, is the executive director of secondary schools in the Des Moines Public School District. Schott began his career in education as a teacher at McKinley Elementary School in 1992. He also served as principal of several elementary schools, including Hubbell Elementary School from 2004–2011 where he led the effort to become Iowa’s first International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme World School.
- Patricia Trump, FS ’74, GR ’87, is a music educator at Monroe Elementary in Des Moines. Trump has taught and directed school choruses for more than 35 years and is a member and past president of the Des Moines Choral Society. She is active in the American Orff-Schulerk Association and currently serves as treasurer of the greater Des Moines chapter. Since 2005, Trump has been a member of the teaching team for the Iowa Comprehensive Musicianship Project. In that capacity she has led sessions on comprehensive musicianship for many organizations, including the Drake Summer Music Symposium. She is currently partnering with Drake to provide live classroom experience for students in elementary music methods classes.