The Governing Committee of the Licking County Foundation recently approved $13,000 in Tibbie Leslie Travel Grants for travel to Austria, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands and Wales by seven area educators. These grants were awarded to teachers who plan foreign travel to broaden their experience and knowledge in their particular field of interest. They were also selected for their commitment to bringing the world back to their classrooms in the true spirit of the award’s donor, Tibbie Leslie—a Newark native who traveled the world throughout her 30-year teaching career. Since 1999, the Tibbie Leslie Fund has provided over $160,000 in travel grants to 82 area educators. This year’s grant recipients are:
Melinda Buchholz
School District: Newark City Schools
School: Newark High School
Courses Being Taught: Art Foundations Grades 9-12, Beginning Painting Grades 9-12, Advanced Painting Grades 10-12, Art Seminar Grades 10-12, and Photography Grades 10-12
Primary Travel Destination: London, England
Classroom Benefit: Mrs. Buchholz will gain first-hand experience of interacting with the art, food, history and the people of another city outside of the United States, as a means to motivate students to plan their own adventures and expand their worldview. Upon her return, Mrs. Buchholz’s photography class will develop and print her photos shot in 35mm black and white film to create a body of work based on her adventure in England.
Janessa Castle
School District: Lakewood Local School District
School: Lakewood High School
Courses Being Taught: English Grades 9 & 10, Pre-AP English Grades 9 & 10, Yearbook
Primary Travel Destination: Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands
Classroom Benefit: Visiting historically significant Holocaust locations and sites will help further invigorate Ms. Castle’s passion for the subject, which will be passed to her students. Capturing video footage and photos and creating a travel journel will provide students with first-hand resources to help them associate more deeply with the material as they work to make connections between this complex event and their lives.
Emily Cline
School District: Newark City Schools
School: McGuffey Elementary School and Cherry Valley Elementary School
Courses Being Taught: Art Grades 1-5
Primary Travel Destination: Mexico
Classroom Benefit: Visits to a variety of cultural locations and museums will support authentic understanding of multicultural art-making traditions, as Ms. Cline strives to implement engaging, interdisciplinary, and multicultural lessons, while fostering original thought, critical thinking skills, and imagination. She anticipates discovery and inspiration on this trip that will help develop new projects and areas of inquiry for various age levels of students.
Dana Decker
School District: Granville Exempted Village School District
School: Granville High School
Courses Being Taught: English Grade 11, Modern World Studies
Primary Travel Destination: Paris, Venice, and Vienna
Classroom Benefit: Experiences during this trip will fill in an area of Ms. Decker’s body of historical knowledge, with highlights to include visiting the homeland of Hitler and Mozart, spending time in a former Axis power country of World War II, and a return trip to Paris. Ms. Decker intends to utilize her first-hand travel experiences to enrich her teaching of the French Revolution, Napoleon III’s reconstruction of Paris, post-World War II, the Italian Renaissance, and other important aspects of European history.
Jennifer Kinsley
School District: C-TEC
School: C-TEC
Courses Being Taught: Visual Arts Foundations Grades 9-12, Digital Imaging and Design, Photography, Typography, Visual Communications, and Portfolio Development (Grades 11-12)
Primary Travel Destination: Wales
Classroom Benefit: During her time in Wales, Ms. Kinsley intends to conduct researsh at Aberystwyth University reviewing the most complete archives of Welsh lineage, to accomplish the final step of locating the origins of her Welsh ancestors. Additionally, Ms. Kinsley plans to observe and record Welsh cultural arts, including music and folk objects, and discover and travel to the town of her ancestors' origin. This travel experience will lead to the development of a unit of instruction on photo-documentary processes for her students to widen their knowledge of their own cultural roots.
Jace Maybury
School District: Lakewood Local School District
School: Lakewood High School
Courses Being Taught: Pre-AP World History Grade 9, American History Grade 10, Street Law
Primary Travel Destination: England, France and Italy
Classroom Benefit: This trip, with notable points of interest to include, Windsor Castle, La Conciergerie, Palace of Versailles, and many others, will give Mr. Maybury a new outlook on the materials he teaches. With increased passion for the content, Mr. Maybury can share first-hand knowledge and his love of history with his students through personal experiences. He will keep an extensive travel journal and collect many primary and secondary sources along the way to provide additional enrichments to the classroom.
Alexandra Schneider
School District: Newark City School
School: Newark High School
Courses Being Taught: Biology Grade 10, Anatomy & Physiology Grades 11 & 12
Primary Travel Destination: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Classroom Benefit: This trip provides Mrs. Schneider with first-hand experience of the biome found in the Pacific Northwest. Exploring the biodiversity of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and observing how these plants and animals interact will allow for a better understanding of the ideas of ecology to bring back to her students.
About the Tibbie Leslie Fund
Elizabeth Randolph Leslie, known as Tibbie, was raised in Newark, Ohio. She graduated from Newark High School in 1950 and from Miami University in 1954. Ms. Leslie taught physical education at Withrow High School in Cincinnati for 30 years. She was also a swimming instructor. Ms. Leslie was known for encouraging young people in their endeavors. A colleague said, “Her rapport with the students was good. She liked to have fun.” Every summer, she returned to Newark to visit her family then left for a trip abroad. She traveled extensively with a group of educators; going to Europe, South America, Russia, China (three times), Japan, Africa, and many other exotic places. Her learning experiences on these trips were so meaningful that she decided to help other teachers travel. One of her friends said, “She loved the scenery, loved the people and loved to barter…she liked to be part of the action.” Ms. Leslie died in 1995 at age 63. She established the Tibbie Leslie Fund in the Licking County Foundation through her will. Since 1999, the Tibbie Leslie Fund has provided over $160,000 in travel grants to 82 area educators.
Applying for Travel Grants
The next cycle of Tibbie Leslie Travel Grant applications will be due in Fall 2016. To learn more information, please visit our website at www.thelcfoundation.org or call Amy Dell, Program Officer, at 740.349.3863 x108.
About Licking County Foundation
Established in 1956, Licking County Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life in our community by helping caring people meet their philanthropic goals. LCF is a nonprofit charitable organization composed of 231 funds given by generous individuals, businesses and organizations. In 2014, these funds had a combined market value of more than $82.3 million; and $2.3 million in grants and scholarships were awarded to benefit many worthy local projects, programs, organizations and students. These grants enhanced almost every aspect of life in Licking County—including education, arts and culture, youth and families, health and human services, parks and recreation, and more. For information, please call 740.349.3863 or visit www.thelcfoundation.org.
