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Education Division Associate Dean Dr. Moriarty and Education Division students Victoria Sabatino, Samantha Parigi, and Kristen Kowalski who were recognized by the NJ Department of Education for their student teaching.
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Caldwell, N.J., – June 30, 2017 –

Caldwell University Education Division graduate Samantha Parigi ’17 received a statewide award for her student teaching. Parigi, a resident of Caldwell, was selected for a 2017 New Jersey Distinguished Clinical Intern Award from the state Department of Education and was honored at a ceremony in June. Kristen Kowalski ’17 and Victoria Sabatino ’17, also education majors, won New Jersey clinical intern awards.

Joan Moriarty, associate dean of the Division of Education, is grateful to the faculty and staff in the division who prepared the students to stand among “the best of the best” in New Jersey.

Each year the deans of New Jersey’s education preparation programs are invited to submit the dossiers of their three most outstanding prospective teachers into competition for the award. This process includes their university supervisors and cooperating teachers.

The award publicly recognizes the year’s 15 top graduates of educator preparation programs in New Jersey’s colleges and universities. “To be selected from all the student teachers in the state is amazing, and it reaffirms all the hard work I’ve done this past year,” said Parigi.

She graduated from Caldwell May 21 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Elementary Education and English and received a certification in Early Childhood Education, specializing in preschool through third-grade.

She credits the Caldwell Education Division with providing continuous support and encouragement. “Whenever I had a question or concern they were there with answers, especially my university supervisor Bernadette Santoriello. The guidance I have received along the way has made me feel excited and confident to enter this career.”

She starts her career in the fall when she will teach third grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Nutley, New Jersey.