By Danielle Smith
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Over the summer, Social Studies teacher Dr. Amy Perruso was one of many teachers selected in various states to receive the James Madison Memorial Fellowship award. The annual award offers one teacher in every state a $24,000 grant to study towards their master’s degree in the social studies field at any college of their choosing. Perruso hopes to further extend her knowledge, all while balancing every other aspect of her life, including teaching two Advanced Placement classes, serving in the Hawaii State Teachers Office and raising her child.
“What it has done is remind me that everybody has multiple dimensions and one of the things that I’m exploring right now is political action and what it’s like to get involved in actual politics. But this award has already reminded me that I also love academic learning and reading and writing and thinking and being reflective,” Perruso said.
For Perruso, attending schools on scholarships is not something that is unfamiliar to her. “I’ve always gotten all of my education on scholarships. So my undergraduate degree and all my graduate degrees have been paid for by scholarships. So this is sort of a normal process,” she said. “I think that I’ve been very fortunate to have had all my education paid for by scholarships.”
Many of her students hold no doubt that Perruso was worthy of receiving this award. “I think that she pretty much deserves it. She is a really good teacher and I learned a lot from her. She’s not someone who tells you to just sit down and go on the computer, we actually had class discussions and she got us involved,” Junior Isabella Nims said. Junior Kaycee Beardeaux added, “She’s an amazing teacher and she does so many things outside of school and does so much to help her students and she even goes above the call of duty as a teacher.”
Although the opportunity comes with many advantages, there are also many challenges that Perruso will have to face. “When I was applying for it, I was not yet running for office (in the Hawaii State Teachers Union). So I think that it will be a real challenge to have to complete my masters while at the same time fulfilling my duties in office,” Perruso said. “She’s a really busy person, so if anything it might cause her stress. But I know she can multi-task really well,” Nims added.
But Perruso won’t have to work through these challenges alone, as her students continue to support her in and out of the classroom. Beardeaux said, “Mostly, I’ll give her moral support and be less of a burden on her, because she’s already so stressed out.” Nims added, “I’m not fully aware of everything she has on her plate but I know she is handling a lot. I think it’ll be a challenge for her, but I know that she can definitely handle it. She’s always taken on so many things, so I know that she can handle a lot.”
Perruso will attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa to finish her master’s degree in U.S. History the following year, and intends to focus on her students and other obligations in the meantime.
