2 from Henrico earn Virginia Humanities fellowships

Two people from Henrico are among 19 statewide to earn fellowships from Virginia Humanities, the state’s humanities council.

Henrico County Public Schools Secondary Social Studies Specialist Taylor Snow was one of 12 recipients of the K-12 Educator Fellowship, which provides educators with humanities curriculum focuses the resources to design new learning experiences that are accessible for both physical classroom and remote use by teachers across Virginia.

“The intention of the Virginia Humanities K-12 Fellowship was to support K-12 educators in the work they are already doing, and it was clear from the beginning that the conversations, questions, and thoughts of this cohort are beyond excellent,” said Emma Ito, Virginia Humanities’ director of education.

The fellowships are provided through funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan. The learning experiences created by the K-12 Fellows will be shared on a new website specifically for educators currently in development by Virginia Humanities.

In addition, Melissa Ooten of Henrico earned one of four Public Humanities Fellowships, which are designed to help writers, independent scholars, community historians, and college and university faculty members share research, stories, and cultural expressions that are relevant to Virginia’s diverse communities and that connect audiences to wider regional, national, and global contexts.

Ooten is working on a project entitled “A People’s Guide to Richmond and Central Virginia.”

“In recent years, we’ve reimagined our Fellowship Programs to better meet the needs of historians, educators, and community scholars,” said Matthew Gibson, Virginia Humanities’ executive director. “We’re meeting fellows where they are and giving them the tools, time, and financial support they need to tell the complicated stories at the heart of Virginia’s history and culture.”