Ann Marie Cotman Receives P.E.O Scholar Award
The Graduate College is honored to announce Ann Marie Cotman (Ph.D., School Improvement) as a 2020 P.E.O. Scholar Award recipient. Founded in 1869, the P.E.O. Sisterhood is a philanthropic and educational organization based in the United States and Canada interested in increasing higher education opportunities for women. The Scholar Award is P.E.O.’s most prestigious award ($15,000 in 2020– and $20,000 starting in 2021), only 100 of which are awarded to doctoral students across the country each year. Priority is given to women who are well established in their programs, study, or research and will make significant contributions to their varied fields of endeavor. Texas State has now received every award offered at the graduate level from this women’s philanthropic organization: the Scholar Award (PSA), the International Peace Scholarship (IPS), and the Program for Continuing Education (PCE) grant. Ann Marie was one of three Texas State University doctoral students, along with Christina Lopez (Geography) and Sophia Mavroudas (Applied Anthropology), to win this highly completive award during the 2019-2020 academic year. These three outstanding women are the university's first-ever recipients of the PSA. Congratulations!
What is your current area of research and what significance does it hold for your field and for society?
I am interested in school safety. My dissertation is a hermeneutical analysis of the School Resource Officer training text that is mandated by Texas for all school police officers. National events can put a laser focus on school safety concerns that school leaders must address. School shootings have resulted in deploying thousands of police officers into our educational environments on a full-time basis, but this change must be accompanied by careful consideration of the full range of impacts it has on our school communities, as well as the existing safety concerns that are blurred out of focus when we implement such a change.
Who is your research advisor?
Dr. Michael O’Malley, Dean of the College of Education
What is your brief academic history, including the degrees you've earned and the institutions you've attended?
I earned a B.A. in history from Texas A&M and a M.A.T. from The College of New Jersey.
How did you become interested in your field?
I have been a teacher for 25 years. I see the valuable work that schools do and how important our education system is. I don’t just mean helping students prepare for a career and achieving – that seems to be a common idea of the role of schools – but how schools care for our children. Guardians and parents entrust the people in schools to keep our children safe and healthy for a big part of the day, and our schools are places where community is created and society is reinvented.
Do you currently hold any assistantships or other positions related to your field of study?
Currently, I work part-time as an instructional interventionist at Manor High School in Manor ISD. I see every working day the absolute importance of school safety.
Have you received other honors or awards during your academic career?
I was excited to be a National Merit Scholar and Presidential Scholar at Texas A&M, but I was even more excited to win the Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis award from the College of Liberal Arts for my original research – I think it gave me the research bug. As a master’s student, I won the college’s award for outstanding graduate student for my graduating year. And now, to earn the P.E.O. Scholar Award as a doctoral student…I’m very excited that others see value in my work.
What did you learn about the process of applying for the P.E.O. Scholar Award, and what do you think contributed to your selection as a finalist?
My favorite part of the process was getting to share my research with curious and intelligent women outside of the world of doctoral life. I am so gratified that others see the importance and urgency of this work.
What advice would you give to future applicants?
My advice is two-fold: 1. Reach out to The Graduate College for support with your application writing. They have invaluable insight into this process. After all, while this may be your first time writing this type of application, they have been through the process countless times; and 2. Lean into the process as a great learning opportunity for yourself. Writing the application helped me sharpen how I present my ideas and learn to toot my own horn, both skills I can see are important as I move forward in academia.