Andrew Weaver is not your everyday 6th grade teacher
Andrew Weaver is not your everyday 6th grade teacher. Since graduating from SCU with a Psychology degree in 2015 he has been working in his hometown of Dallas, first with AmeriCorps City Year and then in the Teach for America programs teaching math and reading in classrooms where most children come from low income limited English proficiency households. But, meanwhile he has also been continuing the applied cognitive development research he started as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Read’s lab. In the last two and a half years Andrew has co-authored two academic publications based on his work at SCU - one on e-book reading with young learners and one on the importance of preschool children’s language play. He also earned his Masters Degree in Education, and has championed hundreds of kids in Dallas public schools, even starting the “DaVerse Poetry Creative Writing Club” at the middle school where he works. Andrew recently got accepted to the PhD Program in Psychological Sciences at Vanderbilt and will be pursuing his doctoral studies starting next fall.
He writes that:
“The SCU Psych department provided me with immense guidance and support throughout my undergraduate experience. When I first joined Dr. Read’s psycholinguistics lab as a research assistant during my Sophomore year I had no idea what type of career I wanted to pursue after college. While in her lab I had the opportunity to implement and then publish two research designs. In my junior year, Dr. Read directed me to an opening in the Stanford Language & Cognition Lab where I worked until I graduated. These experiences provided me with a rich understanding of child development that I use daily when teaching reading to a predominantly English Language Learner population, and an understanding of research methodology that has helped in my master’s coursework. Additionally, the social justice orientation offered by Santa Clara inspired a passion for educational equity, which I have pursued through AmeriCorps service in City Year and Teach For America. I am now seeking to bring my Psych education to fulfillment as I pursue doctoral studies and a career in academic research. None of this would have been possible without the guidance and care provided by the SCU Psych faculty, who make student preparation and success the center of their work!”