Maria Macias honored for excellence in UW-Whitewater Future Teacher Program

2013 Nov 25

Maria Macias, a senior special education major from Pleasant Prairie, Wis., was recognized for significant achievement in the Future Teacher Program (FTP) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Established in 2009, FTP is a recruitment and retention program. The mission is to attract and retain student teachers of color and those from historically underrepresented groups.

"FTP students receive academic, personal and professional support aimed at promoting student success and increasing retention and graduation rates," said Marijuana Sawyer, director of the program.

More than 500 students participate each year, but only a select few are recognized for going above and beyond in the work they participate in over the course of their college career.

Working through the Research Apprenticeship Program, Macias worked on a project to increase retention of minority students at UW-Whitewater. When she leaves to student teach in Ecuador, she'll undertake another project to develop a family orientation video for an elementary school.

Sawyer congratulated Macias and the other students for their success, saying, "These students exemplify the mission and goals of the FTP program."