Educational Leadership:
While attending Brooklyn College, Maya Tsekenis is
carrying out an internship with a New York City public
school. New York State Department regulations
require that graduate students in Educational Leadership
complete 450 hours of supervised school and district
fieldwork. The fieldwork is carried out in six areas:
Instructional Leadership, Professional Development,
Management, Student Support Services, School and Community
Relations and Technology.
In addition to the public school placement, Ms. Tsekenis
is also using her current position at the Committee on
Special Education (CSE) to carry out administrative and
supervisory tasks. In addition to instructional leadership
and student support services, she is organizing
professional development for staff and analyzing data
related to the work at the CSE. Finally, she supports the
use of technology in special education by availing herself
to troubleshoot matters related to the Special Education
Student Information System, or SESIS.
The International Committee Newsletter:
While attending Fordham University, Ms. Tsekenis worked with Dr. Elaine Congress as a research assistant and began the first International Committee Newsletter. The purpose of the newsletter was to inform the faculty and students of the new Global Service Specialization, the research currently being conducted in the field, new publications by faculty members and international social work experiences from both the student body and the faculty. As the co-editor in chief, Ms. Tsekenis was responsible for retrieving articles for publication, interviewing professors regarding the courses they were teaching, editing and cross-checking facts and ensuring the timeliness of distribution.
Below are the PDF files of the International Committee Newsletter from February of 2007 until May of 2008:
Academic Leadership:
Ms. Tsekenis was the founder and former President of the Global Social Work Student Association [GSWSA]. The GSWSA has over 50 members and is the fastest growing student organization at Fordham GSSS. Students range from clinical, community organizing, administration and research concentrations. In December of 2007, they organized a Holiday Toy Drive, where they collected over 75 toys, books, mittens and gloves to bring to children residing at a Harlem-based shelter.
Additionally, Ms. Tsekenis was part of the faculty International Committee at Fordham University. She participated with professors and deans at Fordham and served as the liaison between faculty and students in the Global Service Concentration. Her task was to justly represent the ideas and wishes of the students and to help expand the Global Service concentration at Fordham. One main accomplishment was to advocate for a course to be provided for the students who had a high demand for it. As a result, the course was offered.
Research Experience:
Maya Tsekenis has served as a graduate assistant and research assistant for Dr. Elaine Congress, Associate Dean of Fordham University’s Continuing Education Program, for two academic years. Her main areas of research during this time were focused on values and ethics in social work practice, undocumented immigrants living in New York City, immigrants and public health and culturally-competent social work practice.