{"55108":{"#nid":"55108","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Fulton County Educator Recognized for Dedication in Engineering Ed","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETri-Cities High School, a magnet school for visual and performing arts, may seem like an unlikely location to establish a junior chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), but chemistry teacher and graduation coach Margaret Tarver hasn\u2019t allowed such minor details to stand in her way.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the Georgia Institute of Technology\u2019s Student and Teacher Enhancement Partnership (STEP), funded by the National Science Foundation\u2019s GK-12 program, graduate students from the Georgia Tech have successfully worked with the Fulton County high school on science and engineering outreach projects, thanks to the guidance of Tarver, who has served as the faculty sponsor for the NSBE Junior chapter. As a result of her leadership, Tarver has been named the NSBE\u2019s Pre-College Initiative Director of the Year, one of the organization\u2019s esteemed Golden Torch Awards. She will travel to the 13th Annual Golden Torch Awards ceremony in Toronto, Canada, in April to officially receive the award.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDuring our first six months of partnering with Tri-Cities through the STEP program, Margaret quickly realized the value of having Georgia Tech as a friend,\u201d said Marion Usselman, Associate Director for Academic Outreach at Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC). \u201cTri-Cities may be a performing arts magnet school, but Margaret quickly understood that students with a creative flair who excel in performing arts are prime candidates for the NSBE Jr. chapter because of their passion for engagement in life and learning. With this in mind, she has introduced the students to science, math and engineering through skits and other creative activities.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsselman also noted that Tarver has served as a mentor to both Tri-Cities students as well as to Georgia Tech graduate students who have coordinated partnership efforts.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMrs. Tarver embodies a passion for not only teaching but also mentoring, which is easily observable,\u201d said former STEP Fellow Dr. Jacqueline Fairley. \u201cShe creates connections with STEP graduate fellows that extend beyond the classroom into life-long mentorship roles. This is shown by the many graduate fellows who return to Tri-Cities to follow up with Mrs. Tarver and volunteer with the NSBE Jr. program beyond their STEP fellowship obligations.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s STEP program has had an impressive track record since its inception in 2001, but Usselman is quick to acknowledge that teachers like Tarver are critical to the initiative\u2019s success. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMargaret has inspired her students to take active responsibility for the NSBE Jr. chapter, to participate in regional and national conferences and competitions, and to use their own knowledge of science and engineering to promote engagement in learning among younger students,\u201d said Usselman. \u201cIn the process, she has positively impacted huge numbers of people, from her Tri-Cities students, to Georgia Tech graduate and undergraduate students, to the neighborhood elementary school students and to staff and faculty at Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Margaret Tarver Receives 2010 Golden Torch Award"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETri-Cities High School, a magnet school for visual and performing arts,\nmay seem like an unlikely location to establish a junior chapter of the\nNational Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), but chemistry teacher and\ngraduation coach Margaret Tarver hasn\u2019t allowed such minor details to\nstand in her way. \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Fulton County teacher is the recipient of the Golden Torch Award"}],"uid":"27281","created_gmt":"2010-03-25 13:46:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:45","author":"Lisa Grovenstein","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-03-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-03-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"55109":{"id":"55109","type":"image","title":"Margaret Tarver, Head Shot","body":null,"created":"1449175507","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:45:07","changed":"1475894486","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:26","alt":"Margaret Tarver, Head Shot","file":{"fid":"190234","name":"Margaret_Tarver_Head_Shot_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Margaret_Tarver_Head_Shot_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Margaret_Tarver_Head_Shot_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":243982,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Margaret_Tarver_Head_Shot_0_0.jpg?itok=LrwKbyuY"}},"55106":{"id":"55106","type":"image","title":"Margaret Tarver, Tri-Cities High School, Lab Shot","body":null,"created":"1449175507","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:45:07","changed":"1475894486","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:26","alt":"Margaret Tarver, Tri-Cities High School, Lab Shot","file":{"fid":"190232","name":"Margaret_Tarver_Lab.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Margaret_Tarver_Lab_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Margaret_Tarver_Lab_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2704259,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Margaret_Tarver_Lab_0.jpg?itok=jUqAw_Ec"}}},"media_ids":["55109","55106"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cetl.gatech.edu\/students\/step\/","title":"STEP Program"},{"url":"http:\/\/national.nsbe.org\/Programs\/GoldenTorchAwards\/tabid\/471\/Default.aspx","title":"Golden Torch Awards"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9009","name":"Golden Torch Award"},{"id":"9012","name":"Margaret Tarver"},{"id":"170959","name":"STEP Pr"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELisa Grovenstein, 404-894-8835\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lisa.grovenstein@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}