Portland State University College of Education

🎓✨ Graduate Spotlight: Tina Meier-Nowell, Graduate Certificate '26 ✨ 🎓

Tina is ready to pivot from administration back to teaching! This month, she is earning her Orientation and Mobility graduate certificate along with a Visually Impaired Learners endorsement.

With two decades of experience in the field of autism and special education — including the last 10 years in administration — Tina can’t wait to return to the classroom with a new field of expertise. It’s never too late, she says.

“You are never ‘stuck’ in a career. Joy and satisfaction can come from the academic pursuit of knowledge and from getting back to what is important to you — which for me was teaching and 1:1 student relationships!”

As an orientation and mobility specialist, she will bring her extensive background to support students who are blind or have low vision, including those with co-occurring conditions.

Her advice to future students looking to follow in her footsteps: “This program is rigorous and will prepare you well! Be ready to work! It will be worth it!”

Congratulations, Tina! 👏

🎓✨ Graduate Spotlight: Vinh Pham, M.Ed. '26 ✨ 🎓

Oregon native Vinh Pham is graduating next week with his master's degree in special education!

The past two years have been a meaningful journey for Vinh as he immersed himself in the world of special education. As he prepares to step into a new role in this field, his goal is to ensure every single student feels seen and valued.

“Whether it be celebrating huge gains or the small wins, I always make sure that every student feels noticed and celebrated about their growth,” Vinh says.

Vinh credits his fellow cohort members, his family, and the DICE PLUSS team — who work relentlessly to support multilingual learners — for keeping his spirits high and helping him reach this milestone.

Congratulations, Vinh! 👏 We know you will be the change that makes the world a better place!

🎓✨ Graduate Spotlight: Issac Graham, BA ‘26! ✨🎓

Issac is part of the College of Education’s first Elementary Education cohort earning bachelor’s degrees next week.

The undergraduate pathway, launched in 2024, made a career change possible for him. The “neighborhood dad” and father of three set his high school dream of becoming a teacher aside for years because it felt out of reach. Now, he’s just days away from a diploma.

Issac transferred to PSU from PCC with the support of a Rise to Teach scholarship. Though the journey hasn’t been easy — with long days of student teaching, evening coursework, and time away from his family — Issac is excited to step into his new role at the head of the class.

"I’d like to make the biggest impact on the community that I’m a part of," he said. "I’ve seen the difference, not only on the students, but the parents of students of color, and how settling it can be to have a teacher that has a shared experience."

Congratulations, Issac! 👏

Read the full feature on Issac and his cohort: https://www.pdx.edu/education/news/psus-redesigned-elementary-education-program-prepares-diverse-educators-oregon-classrooms

🎓✨ It’s a legacy! ✨🎓

Meet Miriam Meneses-Rios, one of two student speakers at our commencement ceremony next week. Miriam is earning a graduate certificate in school counseling.

Her journey is inspired by the sacrifices and courage of her parents who immigrated from Mexico. She's dedicated two decades to community service in mental health and juvenile justice, which taught her that prevention starts in our schools with connection and belonging.

Her message to fellow graduates: “We are someone’s hope, someone’s safe space, someone’s turning point.”

Join us on June 12, 7pm at the Viking Pavilion, as we celebrate the class of 2026! 👏

Follow along as we highlight more amazing grads here each day. 👀

🎓✨ The countdown to graduation is on! ✨🎓

Today we’re excited to introduce the first of two student speakers who you’ll hear from at the College of Education Commencement Ceremony next week: Rachel Su (M.Ed., Bilingual Teacher Pathway).

For a long time, Rachel believed she wasn’t meant to be a teacher. That all changed during the COVID pandemic when she started homeschooling her child and realized that every child shines in their own unique way. Small words of encouragement from a teacher shifted her long-held beliefs. Her journey from hesitant school volunteer to passionate educator reminds us that one moment can change everything.

We can’t wait to celebrate our incredible graduates and their achievements with you on Friday, June 12, 7pm at the Viking Pavilion!

Until then, follow along here as we highlight more stellar graduates each day. 👀

Mental health conversations typically focus on teens or adults, but at the College of Education, we’re looking at babies and toddlers too. 👶✨

Yesterday on OPB’s "Think Out Loud," Assistant Professor Sally Guyon and PSU alumna and early intervention specialist Melissa Williams discussed our Infant/Toddler Mental Health graduate certificate program. They shared how training specialists to foster early, loving connections builds the neural foundation for a child's emotional resilience and lifelong success.

We are so proud of the work these two are doing to support our community's youngest members.

A big thank you to Early PR for helping connect us with this opportunity to advocate for early childhood education!

🎧 Listen to the conversation here: https://buff.ly/GavFT0C

Make summer count at PSU!

Get ahead, catch up, or try something new this summer at PSU. With hundreds of flexible class options—both online and in person—Summer Term at PSU is the perfect time to fast track your degree while still enjoying long evenings and sunny days in Portland.

Open to current, incoming, and non-degree students.

Register now.

https://www.pdx.edu/registration/students

Summer break is on the horizon! Now is a great time to think about professional development, or learning something new for your own personal enrichment. VESi offers low-cost online continuing education courses to fit your educational needs. Take courses when and where you want — and earn PSU graduate credits!

Learn More: virtualeduc.com/psu

Such a good time at our 2nd annual Spring Program Fair! 🍎 It was fun to meet some new College of Education students before they officially start this summer, plus all the prospective folks looking at career paths in teaching and counseling. Huge thanks to our faculty, staff, and PSU partners for hanging out with us. We couldn't have done it without you! 👏

👉 Learn more about our programs: pdx.edu/education
❓ Questions? Email [email protected]

The #1 benefit to being bilingual? You don't miss the gossip. ☕️

Dean Maneka Brooks brought some humor and heart to KLCC’s "Oregon on the Record" yesterday. She discussed the need to reimagine literacy for bilingual teens and how PSU is training teachers to find genuine connections with every student.

🎧 Catch the full episode: https://bit.ly/42Fuu09

What do you think—is "the gossip" the ultimate linguistic perk? Drop your favorite benefit of multilingualism below!