News

Frederick Douglass’ extraordinary life continues to have an impact, and an East Stroudsburg University graduate student is doing her part to ensure that his legacy lives on. Khristy Almonte, a first-year graduate student in ESU’s professional and secondary education program, developed a junior high lesson plan centered on the life and work of Douglass, who was born into slavery and became a social reformer, orator, writer, statesman and key leader in emancipation. Almonte is the graduate assistant of ESU’s Frederick Douglass Institute as well as a middle school teacher for the Diocese of Scranton. These professional experiences helped inform her lesson plan’s content so that today’s students can become more familiar with Douglass.

East Stroudsburg University is one of four universities in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to receive a $3,448,451 grant from the National Science Foundation to increase recruitment and graduation of students from underrepresented groups in STEM. The five-year grant, NSF’s Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program (LSAMP) is a joint effort of ESU, Millersville, Slippery Rocky, and West Chester.

The goal of the Keystone LSAMP program is to increase the number of students graduating with a STEM bachelor’s degree by 40 students per year across the four institutions. These areas of study include biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics.

The LSAMP program will provide stipends, travel support, and opportunities for student involvement.