Lori Ann Laster receives PEO Scholar Award

Lori Ann Laster, a PhD candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction with a graduate minor in human rights, is the winner of the prestigious PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Scholar Award. Laster is one of 110 scholars within the U.S. and Canada to receive this award. She is also the recipient of a new award from the Center of Jewish Studies, the Jerome L. Joss Graduate Student Research Grant. Laster also recently won the CEHD Seashore Graduate Fellowship Award.

Last year, Laster received the Ruth Eckert Scholarship and Theresa and Nathan Berman Graduate Fellowship in Jewish Studies from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Jewish Studies (CJS).

Laster’s current research focuses on the intersection of religious literacy, cultural identity, and education. She feels incredibly lucky to benefit from the continued support and mentorship of her co-advisors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Lori Helman and Susan Staats, and her human rights and Jewish studies advisor, Bruno Chaouat.