Merkin wins national NEA scholarship

 A life-changing detour, a move west and an academic environment that invited active participation has led to the awarding of a prestigious National Education Association (NEA) scholarship to a University of Wyoming student.

Elementary education major Aaron Merkin is one of two recipients of the 2008 Jack Kinnaman Scholarship. He received the award during the NEA's annual meeting and representative assembly in Washington, DC, earlier this month.

The Kinnaman Scholarship's namesake served as NEA-Retired vice president. He also represented the retiree branch on the NEA's Fund for Children and Public Education.

Merkin originally enrolled at Northern Illinois University with dual major in finance and political science. As he neared graduation, Aaron landed jobs on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and with such organizations as Smith Barney and UBS. A prosperous future loomed, but Merkin developed a different vision for his life.

 "All of those experiences were amazing," he says, "but I realized I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. The paycheck wasn't enough for me to deal with that stress, just dealing with numbers all day."

Merkin answered a "help wanted" ad posted by the Clare Woods Academy in Bartlett, Ill., for a four-hour lunchtime supervisor position. He walked away with an offer to work one-on-one with students with special needs in a primary classroom, a position he held for two years. The work was hard, but far more fulfilling and life-changing.

"It was so rewarding," he says. "Every day, I woke up and actually wanted to go to work. Every day was different, every child was different."

Aaron moved to Laramie in the summer of 2006 and enrolled in the elementary education major. Student Wyoming Education Association (SWEA) adviser Deb Parkinson played a pivotal role in helping him get acquainted with his new program and his peers.

"She was the one who encouraged me, when I first moved here from Chicago, to not only get involved with the program (SWEA), but to run for an office," Merkin says of Parkinson.

Merkin joined UW's SWEA chapter and took on increasingly responsible positions. He expanded his leadership to the state organization. He was first elected state student president in May 2007 and recently reelected to a second term.

As student WEA president, Merkin sits on the Wyoming Education Association (WEA) board of directors.

"You learn all about the educational issues of Wyoming, good and bad," he says of the WEA board. "It's so informative, and the people you meet there are from all around the state."

Merkin's service extends to the national level as well. Last year, he was appointed to the nine-member Student NEA Advisory Committee, a group charged with addressing a range of needs impacting the NEA's 60,000 student members and the chapters that serve them.

Merkin acknowledges strong support from many different sources -- including former College of Education Dean Pat McClurg, WEA student program coordinator Jason Mincer, and WEA President Kathryn Valido as critically important to his preparation for a classroom teaching career.

After graduating in spring of 2009, Merkin plans to enroll in the college's master's program in special education.

Posted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008