Informed & Inspired

For Dr. Sylvia Garcia-Navarrete (’91, ’12), awards season is apparently in full swing. The lecturer in San Diego State University’s Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (ARPE) received two major honors recognizing her achievements and dedication to her home community in San Diego’s South Bay area.

Two San Diego State University College of Education faculty members were among seven local women named to the 2020 class of the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame. Dr. Nola Butler-Byrd (’99, ’04), associate professor in counseling and school psychology and director of SDSU’s Community-Based Block (CBB), was honored in the Empowerer of Women category. Dr. Lupe Holguin Buell (’85, ’02), lecturer and program coordinator in dual-language education, was named in the Bridge Builder of Multicultural Understanding category. They will be honored on March 15.

It was early in his career as a high school English teacher in the early 2000s that Eric Ginsberg had something of an epiphany. He observed how his students at Helix Charter High School in La Mesa talked about hip-hop music — particularly the enthusiasm with which they consumed and analyzed artists’ lyrics.

You may know Manny Uribe as COE’s web and multimedia specialist — and all-around Swiss army knife. But did you know he’s also a San Diego-raised Trekkie who nearly became a teacher? Find out more about Manny in this edition of 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Faculty and Staff!

From Jan. 4-18, Obed Morales Betanzo was one of 20 San Diego State University students who visited Kathmandu, Nepal as part of a College of Education study abroad program. Led by Dr. Jacki Booth and Dr. Alyson Shapiro from the Department of Child and Family Development (CFD), the program explored both the Nepalese school system as well as historic and cultural sites. Below, Obed provides six observations on his perspective-altering experience in the Himalayas.

San Diego State University has been honored by a Latinx education and policy consortium for its success in meeting community needs for bilingual educators.

Dr. Jessica Suhrheinrich, assistant professor in special education, was featured in a Fireside Charla podcast with San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre. Listen to learn more about Suhrheinrich's work to improve learning environments for children with autism.

While pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Dr. Rachel Haine-Schlagel worked with children and families as a full-time clinician. She remembers being particularly struck by parents who didn’t seem engaged in treatment sessions. Some would text on their phones or ask to wait in the lobby. And she remembers how powerless that made her feel.