PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Delaware Valley Education Consortium (DVEC) awarded two $1,500 scholarships to Chestnut Hill College students, junior Christopher Alford and Andrew Bleckner.
The DVEC, in existence since 1994, sponsors the annual Philadelphia Teacher Job Fair and the college is one of the its founding members. Each year the DVEC awards five $1,500 scholarships to member schools who have a year left towards earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree or certification.
The DVEC is comprised of 26 Philadelphia institutions of higher education and sponsors an annual teacher job fair to provide candidates an opportunity to meet and connect with educators from the Delaware Valley and across the U.S.
Christopher Alford will be a senior this fall at CHC where he will work toward his Bachelor of Arts degree in middle level education with certifications in science and math. At CHC, Alford has worked as an orientation leader, student supervisor in the Fitness and Recreation Center, is a member of the educational fraternity Kappa Delta-Epsilon and currently serves as vice president of the Computer Club. Alford also has spent his last couple summers as a math tutor and teaching assistant with the Crossroads Community Center in North Philadelphia.
Andrew Bleckner continues to work towards his Master of Arts degree in education with a concentration in secondary education at CHC. Previously, Bleckner earned a Bachelor of Arts in applied mathematics from Brown University in 1986, in 1995, and a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught in a variety of capacities throughout the years starting at the Upper School at Germantown Academy teaching math and then had a 16-year career upon completion of his doctorate in adjunct and faculty roles teaching music at West Chester University, Susquehanna University, University of Delaware and Rider University.
During this time, Bleckner also served as the songwriting workshop director and resident composer for the Singing City in the Schools education program, which aims to encourage and bring musical creativity to the Philadelphia public schools. Andrew now will transition back to teaching math at the secondary level and currently teaches math at Esperanza Cyber Charter School.
