MAT Candidates Awarded Brython Davis Fellowships

UCI Graduate Division announced the winners of the 2022 Brython Davis Fellowship. Two of the awardees – Karina Baeza and Sara Foreman – are students of the Master of Arts + Credential (MAT) program. The fellowship provides financial support to students who demonstrate outstanding past academic achievement as well as future promise, have financial need, are U.S. citizens, and are the child of a service member or veteran of the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps.

Baeza's plans are to become a dual-immersion Spanish elementary school teacher at a low-income school in order to work with students who come from marginalized and underrepresented communities. "I aspire to work at a school that teaches a population of marginalized students because it relates closely to the type of schooling I had growing up," she said. "By working with this community, I know that I can give back to my own community and make a difference with the knowledge that I have learned at UCI."

Baeza will use the fellowship to help support herself throughout the last couple of months of the graduate program. "Due to my current workload with classes and fieldwork, it is nearly impossible to work a part-time job," she said. "The fellowship will help me reach my goals and remain focused on my coursework, rather than having to worry about finding a part-time job."

Karina Baeza

​Her father, a Marine Corps veteran, is one of her number one supporters. "He has inspired my educational career and path because he did not get the opportunity to go to a university after high school," she shared. And now has returned the favor by supporting him during his educational journey.

"​He is in the process of obtaining his first B.A. at Cal State Fullerton, so it has been very rewarding for me to be able to offer my knowledge and experiences to help him in ways that he could not help me throughout my undergrad and graduate years," Baeza said.

Sara Foreman and her father,
a Marine Corps veteran

Immediately upon learning that she won the fellowship, Foreman called her father, a Marine Corps veteran, to thank him. "The fellowship is less of a reflection of my efforts, but rather a huge gesture of gratitude towards my dad who served in two wars and sacrificed many years and memories to serve our country."

"Though this fellowship allows me to commit more time to lesson planning and spending time with my students, I am more thankful for how the fellowship honors the service done by military members who have given so much for us," Foreman said.

Post-graduation, she will be working locally at a public high- or middle school in Orange County. 

“I look forward to teaching through inquiry in order to address the daily needs my students will have,” Foreman said. “This form of informal studies will be location- and demographic-specific depending on where I get placed as a teacher and what unique necessities each individual will have.”​

With the support and guidance of her father, Foreman has garnered experiences that built an appreciation the differences and strengths of others. "Moving forward, I am eager to enter classrooms that are filled with students from many different backgrounds who all have their own strengths," she said.