Rider alumni honored among NJ’s top educator graduates

Two Rider University alumni were recognized among the top 15 graduates of educator preparation programs in New Jersey's colleges and universities.

Sophia Caparas '25, an elementary education and multidisciplinary studies major, and Emilie Beals '25, a music education major, received this year’s Distinguished Clinical Intern Award during a ceremony at Kean University on June 3.

Beals, the only music educator nominated this year, served as a student teacher last fall in the Lawrence Township School District under the mentorship of music teacher Mandy St. Pierre Johnson '08. Beals graduated summa cum laude from Rider’s Westminster Choir College in May and will return in the fall to pursue a Master of Music Education as part of the University’s 4+1 BM-MME program.

“My student teaching semester was an incredibly inspiring and transformative experience that I will cherish forever,” Beals says.

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For her role advising Beals, Johnson received a Distinguished Cooperating Teacher Award during this year’s ceremony. The award recognizes excellent cooperating teachers who use their expertise to prepare top teacher candidates in New Jersey for careers as future educators.

“This award affirms how impactful an intentional student teaching experience can be, not only for the intern but for the cooperating teacher and school community as well,” says Johnson, who majored in music education and is now a music teacher at Lawrence High School. “I’m proud of the work Emilie and I did together and so grateful to Westminster Choir College for valuing that kind of mentorship so highly.”

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Caparas completed student teaching experiences in Jamesburg, New Jersey, with cooperating teacher Erin Perdoni, who also received a Distinguished Cooperating Teacher Award, as well as in Graz, Austria. Rider provides such experiences for education students through its 15-week student teaching semester, which may include student teaching abroad. Students work directly with one or more cooperating teachers who are selected because of their ability to mentor novice teachers into the profession. Each student teacher also has one or more supervisors from Rider’s faculty who are credentialed in the certification area.

“I came into Rider as a transfer student, and I left confidently feeling the full support of the faculty in the College of Education and Human Services,” says Caparas. “The New Jersey Distinguished Clinical Intern Award only strengthened my passion for educating children.”

The annual New Jersey Distinguished Clinical Intern Award is a collaborative effort between the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NJACTE) and the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). Student nominees are entered into a pool of outstanding candidates from educator preparation programs across the state. An independent panel of educators evaluates the credentials of each candidate to select the recipients.