F.D. Roosevelt High Teacher Dorothy Findlay of Staatsburg to Receive Clarkson University Award

POTSDAM, NY (05/02/2013)(readMedia)-- Dorothy Findlay of Staatsburg, N.Y., motivates her students to achieve great success. Findlay is one of two recipients of this year's Clarkson University Inspirational High School Educator Award.

The science teacher at the F.D. Roosevelt High School in the Hyde Park Central School District in Hyde Park, N.Y., was nominated by former student Garrett D. Kane of Hyde Park, a senior software engineering major at Clarkson. The award will be presented on May 10 during Clarkson's commencement weekend activities.

Each year, Clarkson asks its seniors to nominate the secondary school educators who have significantly affected their lives and helped guide their higher education and career decisions. The award recognizes these educators for their lasting impact on their students and in their fields of education.

Early in the spring term, graduating seniors submit their reasons for choosing their nominees, how they influenced them and actual situations in which they showed themselves to be outstanding educators.

"Ms. Findlay helped to inspire me to pursue a scientific education through experimentation and academic rigor. She pushes all of her students to and past their personal limits while always being there to assist students who fall behind," says Kane. "On multiple occasions, other students and I would stay after school, sometimes for hours, and work to thoroughly understand the material being taught. Ms. Findlay was always there to guide us, providing just enough information that we would make the leap to understanding on our own."

"We all can think back to a teacher we had growing up whose lessons still resonate with us," says Clarkson Vice President for University Outreach and Student Affairs Kathryn B. Johnson. "These educators challenged and encouraged their students in such a way that prepared them to thrive at Clarkson."

Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.