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Professor's award paves trail she blazed for other students

By RITA FARLOW
Published May 21, 2006

She spent eight years working toward a doctorate in communications at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, while working for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Koski, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, decided she wanted to help pave the way for a woman in a similar situation. So she worked with officials from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she completed her bachelor's degree with a double major in English and psychology, to create the Dr. Cheryl A. Koski Award.

The annual award was created to benefit a woman 30 years or older with the highest grade point average among graduating seniors in the College of Letters and Sciences. On April 11, Koski presented the award to the first recipient, Kim Lantz. Also in attendance were Koski's two mentors, both retired from UW-Whitewater, Dr. Robert N. Burrows of the English department and Dr. I-Ning Huang of the psychology department. Koski said she dedicated the award to the two professors who most influenced her decision to earn a doctorate.

"Both of them strongly encouraged me to get a Ph.D., and had they not encouraged me and planted the idea in my mind, I don't think I would have ever even thought of going that far in my education," Koski said.

In honor of them, Koski wanted to bestow the award on someone who had shown dedication and commitment to higher education. "I went back (for my doctorate) in my mid 30s and I didn't finish until I was 45, so I wanted to encourage and recognize other women who are taking similar paths," she said.

Lantz, 36, has a 3.95 grade point average and has been accepted to the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she will be a graduate student in the fall. Lantz of Beloit, Wis., said the money came at "the exact right time."

A week before she received notification of the award, Lantz found out she had been accepted to the Chicago school but needed $500 to hold her spot. The single mother had no idea where she'd get the money.

"I was racking my brain on how I would get it. A week later, I was checking my school e-mail, and I got a message informing me of the Cheryl A. Koski Award. It said the amount was $500. I was like, 'This can't be.' Sure enough, I realized it was legitimate. I was so happy - I knew exactly where that $500 was going to go," she said.

Lantz said she felt honored to be the first recipient of the award and looks forward to the opportunity to continue her education.

Koski said the experience was like "completing a circle," from her days as an undergraduate student being mentored by two incredible professors, to her position at USF St. Petersburg, through which she hopes to provide the same type of inspiration to her students.

Summing up the experience of presenting the award as both Burrows and Huang stood on the podium with her, Koski said, "It was truly one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life."

[Last modified May 21, 2006, 09:24:12]