Loyola graduate student receives Maryland State Education Association’s Minority Recognition Award
“The faculty at Loyola University Maryland are proud that one of our current master’s students, Eric Hines, has received the Maryland State Education Association Minority Recognition Award, an award that aligns with the School of Education’s vision for inclusive education and social justice,” said Joshua S. Smith, Ph.D., dean of the School of Education. “Eric joins a prestigious list of awardees across the state. He has been recognized by his faculty members as an outstanding student, and we look forward to seeing how he positively impacts education in Maryland for students and community as a whole.”
Hines, who is currently receiving his master’s degree in Educational Technology at Loyola, says his main goal is to build technology that will continue to bring students closer to connecting their interests with education.
“This award is a humble reassurance that I am where God wants me to be,” said Hines, a resident of Bowie, Md. “I have been fortunate enough to have my fellow Maryland educators and educational staff recognize my efforts to strive for the very best in all of our students. Quality education should be available to all students and has a way of bringing out the natural innovative minds of our youth that creates new ways of operating around the world.”
Hines feels his Loyola education has taught him how to approach education from a complete perspective and focus on the whole person. While attending Loyola, he has learned how to make his classroom a climate that is aware of every student’s needs and welcomes all students to learn in the way that best suits them.
As an educator, Hines believes that it is his responsibility to foster a curriculum that is not only engaging, but that also opens the doors for the learner to be able to take ownership of their education.
“The training that I am receiving at Loyola continues to foster my ability to adapt technology with a creative fluid ever-changing mind that fits the one stable part of life—which is change,” said Hines, who works at Laurel High School in Laurel, Md., as a mathematics instructor and basketball coach. “Loyola has helped me develop into the type of transformative and compassionate leader that our students need to face the exciting challenges of the new look of education in the future.”