The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas has awarded its 2022 Fellowship to 11 educators. As part of their week-long experience in Fort Scott, the five fellows for June 26 – July 1 were given the key to the city. Six other Fellows were in Fort Scott last week.

The Fellows honored this week were Trysta Asche from Nebraska, Bonnie Garrett from Alabama, Jayda Pugliese from ­­­­Pennsylvania, Josha Sietsma from the Netherlands, and Suzy Turner from Iowa.

LMC Director Norm Conard praised these outstanding individuals, saying, “It is an honor to be able to network and collaborate with these exceptional educators and provide this opportunity for them to reflect, re-energize and strategize with each other as they seek new ways to inspire their students.”

Every summer, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes awards their Fellowship to national and international award-winning educators from America and around the world.

As LMC Fellows, they deepen their understanding of Unsung Heroes and project-based learning, preparing them to develop Unsung Heroes projects with their students and learn the stories of role models who help change the world.

Along with the time spent deepening their professional skills at the LMC, the Fellows enjoy visiting the Fort Scott area.

The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas, an international educational non-profit, has awarded its prestigious Fellowship to Suzy Turner, a Talented and Gifted teacher and National History Day advisor at Nashua-Plainfield Jr/Sr High School in Nashua, IA. Suzy arrived in Fort Scott on June 26^th for a week of collaboration with LMC staff.

The LMC Fellowship is a merit-based award for educators of all disciplines who value the importance of teaching respect and understanding through project-based learning. The Center selects exemplary teachers from the United States and around the world who will collaborate on projects that discover, develop, and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes in history.

Suzy Turner, a teacher and National History Day advisor for the past 18 years at Nashua-Plainfield Jr./Sr. High School in Nashua, Iowa, has earned many teaching honors due to her students’ extraordinary successes, including National History Day (NHD) in Iowa Teacher of the Year (2009, 2013, 2020), and NHD Senior Division National Teacher of the Year (2020). The secret to Suzy’s project-based learning success is helping her students find topics connected to their personal interests, facilitating research opportunities at university libraries and archives, and providing project interview support. In 2021, after winning 1^st place at the NHD national contest for his project on the Ghost Army of World War II, one of Turner’s students began lobbying for the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act. On February 1, 2022, his efforts achieved success when President Biden signed the bill into law, providing long overdue recognition for this top-secret deceptive unit.

Suzy has presented on history and history education topics at state and national conferences, facilitated professional development sessions for K-12 social studies teachers from eighteen area schools, and served as a guest blogger for PBS: History In The Classroom. As a scholar participant in programs sponsored by National History Day, the World War I Centennial Commission, and American Battle Monuments Commission, Turner has honored the memories of military veterans and fallen soldiers. She has helped improve understanding of the meaning of sacrifice by presenting graveside eulogies, writing silent hero profiles, and authoring published lesson plans for teachers. Most recently, Turner has lent her time and talents to elevating education about marginalized groups in history by authoring a lesson on the Americans with Disabilities Act for Building A More Perfect Union and a lesson plan book jointly published by the National Endowment for the Humanities and National History Day in recognition of our nation’s upcoming 250^th anniversary. In her spare time, Suzy likes playing Scrabble and competitive golf with her family, as well as running road races.

LMC Executive Director Norm Conard says, “Suzy is a superior project developer and will have much expertise to share with our 2022 Fellows team. We look forward to working with Suzy and learning from her vast array of successes and experiences.”

While in Fort Scott, LMC Fellows gain knowledge, educational resources and support in helping students cultivate a passion for learning through the creation of projects that initiate positive change. Fellows will be equipped to develop Unsung Heroes projects with their students, applying and evaluating the stories of these role models who have changed the world

throughout history.

Josha Sietsma Named 2022 Lowell Milken Center Fellow

The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas, an international educational non-profit, has awarded its prestigious Fellowship to Josha Sietsma, a teacher at Corderius College in Amersfoort, Netherlands. Josha teaches Social and Political Sciences, Holocaust Studies and Classic Japanese literature. He is also head of the Humanities department. Josha arrived in Fort Scott on June 26^th for a week of collaboration with LMC staff.

The LMC Fellowship is a merit-based award for educators of all disciplines who value the importance of teaching respect and understanding through project-based learning. The Center selects exemplary teachers from the United States and around the world who will collaborate on projects that discover, develop, and communicate the stories of Unsung Heroes in history.

Josha Sietsma is a high school teacher at Corderius College in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. The last ten years, he has organized and taught study trips related to the Holocaust. With a personal connection (family members were murdered in Dachau), he takes his students to former extermination camps, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau and Bergen Belsen. One aspect that highlights his classrooms is the use of books. Through classic stories, beautifully written lines and a good cover, books have the power to connect a learning community.

Characteristic to the work of Josha Sietsma is the interdisciplinary aspect. His last project connects the Nebraskan State Capitol with Philosophy of Architecture and the origin and validation of Human Rights. Important in all his teaching and work is the continuing call for articulation of underlying values. Nebraska has had his attention since he read a small article on the Sandhills in the early nineties, and he dreams to one day live (in) the Good Life.

Outside of his professional education field, Josha owns a small publishing company that specializes in historical baseball scorebooks, stickers and lapel pins. He is also the founder of two foundations: a thinktank serving local politicians by providing research and the JAS-san foundation. The latter is a foundation to promote the use of Classic Japanese literature in the classroom.

LMC Executive Director Norm Conard says, “We are extremely excited to have Josha as a member of our 2022 group of Lowell Milken Center Fellows. His vast experiences as an outstanding educator in the Netherlands, a leader in Holocaust education, and an expert in Japanese literature bring new dimensions to our knowledge base. It is a certainty that we will all gain much from the opportunity to have Josha on our team.”

While in Fort Scott, LMC Fellows gain knowledge, educational resources and support in helping students cultivate a passion for learning through the creation of projects that initiate positive change. Fellows will be equipped to develop Unsung Heroes projects with their students, applying and evaluating the stories of these role models who have changed the world throughout history.