Congratulations to C&I Student Kelsey Alfaro, 2025 DOVE Fellowship Award Winner

Kelsey Alfaro is this year’s recipient of the Provost’s Professional Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship. Kelsey is a fourth-year senior in the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) program and will graduate in Spring 2025 with a degree in Elementary Education.

What is your Program Area? 

My Program Area is in Elementary Education. I will be pursuing the Elementary Education MEd/Initial Licensure Program this upcoming fall.

What are you hoping to do with this fellowship?

Through this fellowship, I hope to further refine my teaching philosophy and practices by engaging with mentors and fellow educators who share a commitment to social justice in education as I further my own education. I aim to deepen my understanding of my identity as an educator in our changing society while continuing on to center the experiences and knowledge of marginalized communities who have been historically disenfranchised within education. This fellowship will provide me with the necessary support and resources to champion a curriculum that authentically reflects the identities and histories of my students.

What are you looking forward to the most about this fellowship?

What I look forward to the most about this fellowship is the opportunity to continue my educational journey and collaborate with like-minded educators and community leaders. I am excited to continue learning how to make the classroom which empowers students to advocate for themselves and their peers, and their communities, and to know that education is liberation. 

Anything else you would like to share?

I am deeply committed to creating classrooms which honor the unique and growing identities of young people, especially those who are most disempowered within schools. I believe that honoring the knowledge, experience, and history brought to the classroom by each of my students is essential for creating an inclusive and effective learning environment. As educators, we are not just teaching children core subjects, but we are facilitating a space for young members of our society to learn how to be– something which is still changing even now as our world is changing. Very often I remind myself that even in times and circumstances that seem uncertain in the world of education and in the world in general– I remind myself that we are here because our ancestors endured and continued and they did so for us. Now it is our time to endure and continue and do so for future generations. I will persist and it is opportunities like this one that propel me to do so.

The DOVE fellowship is a non-service, non-renewable award that carries a stipend of $25,000 for the academic year. Fellows are expected to carry a substantial course credit load each semester, normally 6-14 credits. The fellowship provides 95% of the premium of the health insurance coverage available through the Graduate Assistant Insurance Plan.