Fellows in Focus – December 2022
Fellows in Focus
Marissa Crimoli
Where are you from?
I am from Shrewsbury, NJ
Where do you teach and what subject do you teach?
I teach at the William R. Satz School in Holmdel, NJ. I teach 8th grade Honors English, Standing Up To Intolerance (Holocaust & Genocide course) and Forming a Critical Lens (a humanities course focusing on social justice issues).
How did you get involved with the JFR?
I became involved with the JFR after being nominated for the Alfred Lerner Fellowship program.
What drew you to the organization and its programming?
I love learning and the JFR programs all reach deeply into specific topics (such as the role of doctors within the SS) with incredibly gifted historians and presenters.
What is your favorite memory from your participation in JFR programming?
I can honestly say that all remote programs should look to the JFR to see how effective virtual seminars can be! Despite being all across the country, the community the JFR built, and welcomed me into, is one of the most valuable resources.
How do you feel the Lerner fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
The Lerner fellowship provided me with new knowledge and insight that both invigorated me, and gave me so much new content to bring to my students. Even educators need a “boost” sometimes, and my experiences with the JFR always re-energize me for my work in the classroom.
Anything else you’d like to share with the JFR’s followers and supporters?
I cannot thank the JFR enough for the fellowship, education, and experiences I’ve been provided with.
Libby Buchanan
Where do you teach and what do you teach?
I teach at Zanesville High School in Zanesville, Ohio. I teach History of the Holocaust, World History and US History.
How did you get involved with JFR?
I had taken the Roma and Sam Kaltman Summer Teacher Institute online for two years when Jodi Elowitz nominated me for the JFR Fellowship. This summer, I was able to take the Kaltman Summer Institute in person in Cincinnati, OH.
What was the most compelling thing you learned as an Alfred Lerner Fellow?
I don’t think I could narrow it down to just one thing! Being surrounded by the most prominent Holocaust scholars definitely increased my background knowledge and nothing compares to the feeling of being considered worthy enough to be in the same Zoom chat with them. It was very much awe inspiring and humbling at the same time.
How do you feel the Lerner fellowship has impacted your life, both personally and professionally?
Personally, JFR inspires me every day to continue doing as much as I can to tell the story of Holocaust survivors and victims. Professionally, JFR has made me more aware of how I tell those stories to my students.
