Rider senior recognized at the state level for academic achievements and civic engagement

Senior Juli Ezzo is the co-winner of the 2020 Arlene Gardner Distinguished Scholar Award from the New Jersey Council for Social Studies (NJCSS), a professional organization for K-12 teachers and college professors.

The award honors middle school, high school and college students who display excellence in research, civic engagement, ambitious course loads or leadership in the field of social studies.

Ezzo was nominated by Dr. Mark Pearcy, an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education. “Juli Ezzo has been an outstanding student and researcher at Rider University, and will be, I am sure, an excellent and highly professional social studies educator," he wrote in his nomination letter.

Ezzo is a double major in secondary education and history with a certificate in English as a Second Language (ESL). She also serves as a collegiate facilitator with the National 4-H conference, where young people are able to learn, practice and apply skills for civic engagement and personal development through hands-on experiences.

She recently led a team of 4-H students in creating an original presentation on a social issue and presenting it to a U.S. Federal Agency. Her article about the experience, “From the Roundtable: Lessons in Civic Action Education from the National 4-H Conference,” was published in the Winter/Spring 2020 edition of Teaching Social Studies, the joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies.

Executive Director of the NJCSS Hank Bitten says Ezzo's nomination stood out amongst others because of her published work.

“We receive nominations for students who have done amazing research, taken a rigorous schedule of perhaps 10 social studies classes in high school, and others who have impressed their teacher demonstrating personal growth during the school year," he says. "Juli’s nomination was very strong and included an article she published.”

At Rider, Ezzo is a community assistant in Wright Hall, a senior admissions fellow, an orientation leader, a member of the conduct board for the Office of Community Standards and the president of the History Club. She is a member of four honor societies: Phi Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta Pi, Rho Alpha Sigma and Omicron Delta Kappa. She is also a three-time Andrew J. Rider Scholar, representing the top 1 percent of sophomores, juniors and seniors.

After graduating from Rider this spring, Ezzo hopes to land a teaching position in a middle school or high school.

“My dream position would involve teaching social studies content specifically to English language learners,” she says.

Ezzo says she chose Rider specifically because of the College of Education and Human Services' reputation.

“I knew that future employers would see that I graduated from Rider and immediately know that I, while young and inexperienced, had been part of a rigorous teacher preparation program,” she says.