Converse people, places, and events captured by the Connections camera since the last issue.


The Behavioral Interview

In a behavioral interview, an employer has decided what skills are needed in the person they hire and will ask questions to find out if the candidate has those skills.

Instead of asking how you would behave, they will ask how you did behave. The interviewer will want to know how you handled a situation, instead of what you might do in the future.
Read the About.com article.



Education Major on the Move

Susan Vasquez ’87 is a true mover and shaker in the field of education.

She was Spartanburg County District One’s first female principal, was selected to travel to Japan as part of Rotary International’s Group Study Exchange program to examine that country’s approach to education, and was named to the Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers listing on three separate occasions. In June, she will join the staff at the Spartanburg School District 1 offices as coordinator of curriculum and instruction.

What makes these accomplishments even more impressive is that after earning her bachelor’s in sociology from Clemson University in 1982, Susan seemed to be set for a career in social work with the Department of Social Services. Read more.


January 2007
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Converse Educator Presented with Highest Award for Gifted Education


Dr. Nancy Breard holding the Richard W. Riley Award for Accomplishments in the Field of Gifted Education.

At its annual conference in November, the South Carolina Consortium for Gifted Education presented Dr. Nancy Breard of Converse College with its most prestigious award, the Richard W. Riley Award for Accomplishments in the Field of Gifted Education.

The award has been presented only ten times during the past 20 years and is reserved for those individuals whose efforts have resulted in changing the face of gifted education in the state of South Carolina. It was established in 1986 to honor former South Carolina Governor Riley for his efforts in implementing the Education Improvement Act which included a legislative mandate for gifted programming and the first permanent state source of funding for gifted services.

Breard is associate professor of education at Converse. She coordinates the College’s Gifted Education program—the only degree program of its kind in South Carolina.

“For more than 25 years, Dr. Breard has been a tireless advocate for gifted students; teaching in and coordinating programs in South Carolina and her native Louisiana to provide professional development training and graduate course work for thousands of teachers who are working in the field of gifted education,” said Anna Pruitt, who is a board member and past president of the Consortium. “She has served on a number of state task forces for gifted education, the Governor's Advisory Board for Gifted Education and was a founding member of the Consortium.”

In addition to courses in gifted education, Dr. Breard also teaches Educational Psychology, Reading in the Content Area, Curriculum Principles and Methods for Secondary Social Studies Education and courses for the Ed.S. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Breard also directs the Athena Program which, for two weeks each summer, provides gifted children the opportunity to interact with each other while Converse education students gain the experience of developing curriculum solely for gifted children. Now in its 25th year, the program remains the only one of its kind in South Carolina.

 

 


Qualify to win two free opening night (Jan. 23) tickets for "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at The Peace Center in Greenville by correctly answering the question below:

Twenty-five Converse student-athletes were recently named to the 2005-2006 CVAC Presidential Honor Roll. How many states and countries are represented by the Converse student-athletes selected?

**Hint: The answer can be found in this issue of Connections.

Send your answers via email to the editor by noon on Wednesday (Jan. 17). A winner will be randomly selected from the pool of correct answers.


 


Check the on-line calendar of events for a complete listing of sports, student life events, guest lectures, concerts, and more.


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