Citation for 2008 Coffin Award Winner
It is with great pleasure that I announce the third winner of the David D. and Rosemary H. Coffin Fellowship for Travel in Classical Lands. The choice was difficult among a strong field of applicants. Ms. Kay Sherwood of Amarillo, Texas, stood out as an exceptionally dedicated teacher who has been inspiring Latin students since 1986 but has not yet had the opportunity to travel abroad. She will use the award to attend a two-week workshop, ÒRome: In Situ and in the Lab,Ó sponsored by the American Classical League and its Committee on Educational Computer Applications.
As Ms. Sherwood put it in her letter of application, ÒThirty-seven years ago, as an eighth grader in a junior high General Language classroom, I fell in love with the Latin language and the classical civilization of the Romans.Ó She went on to take three years of Latin in high school and to earn a B.A. in the language from Texas Tech University. After an interval while her children were small, she began to teach at Travis Middle School, taking her students to Area and State competitions and Òdreaming of the day when [she] could go to Rome.Ó That day was postponed again and again by the needs of family and colleagues, whom Ms. Sherwood supported through good and bad times. In 2001, she moved to Amarillo High School, where she taught her youngest son in his first Latin class. She has been a member of the ACL since 1988 and has won fellowships to attend their summer Institute in 2001 as well as the National Latin Convention in 2003. Teaching awards in 1988, 1996, and 2004 attest to the excellence of her work over the course of two decades.
A colleague testifies that ÒKay has the same expectations for herself as she does for her students. She continues to learn on her own and she shares her new knowledge with others.Ó In particular, she has been a leader in bringing new technologies to the classroom. Thus the ACL workshop on digital photography seems tailor-made for her. It will alternate between days in the field and days in the lab, as the participants take photos and incorporate them into websites and classroom activities. In the fall, Ms. Sherwood plans to pass on her new expertise to her colleagues and to offer a workshop for the Texas Foreign Language Association. As another recommender puts it, ÒShe will go with enthusiasm, learn with enthusiasm, and return ready to improve our program.Ó
I would like to thank my colleagues on the committee, Antony Augoustakis and Henry Bender, for their thoughtful deliberation, and Adam Blistein for his gracious support of the process.
Lillian Doherty
Chair