In Their Words: Sarah Rapp

Name:  Sarah Rapp

Department: Education Department

What Award/ Scholarship did you receive? Milam-McGinty-Kaun Award for Excellence in Teaching

What year do you expect to graduate? 2020

College: Doctoral Program

Where do you call home? Sonoma County, CA

With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out? The social justice focus

What is your field of focus? Language, Literacy, and Culture

What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz? I hope to continue to do research on critical literacy, multiliteracies and project-based literacy instruction in order to help educators enact a more expansive and relevant version of school literacy that includes more agency for students.

What is one memorable moment that stands out for you as a student here? I was grateful to return to the UCSC campus to begin my phD exactly 20 years after I first attended UCSC as an undergraduate Psych major at what is now Rachel Carson college.  Now I live over the bridge at Family Student Housing with my family of five - different life experience now, but the same amazing spot to learn and live..

What is your one piece of advice for incoming students about life at UC Santa Cruz? Invest in good hiking shoes.  Enjoy the Redwoods and the ocean in between reading and writing.  Talk to your colleagues about your work and about your life.

How will this scholarship impact your academic life /research? Teaching and learning matters so much to me.  It is so meaningful to be recognized for my continual growth and discovery in doing this work.  I can’t wait to continue these adventures.