Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

At the Willamette Promise advisory meeting last Thursday, Feb. 26, the board spent over five minutes praising Dr. Cornelia Paraskevas for her contributions to the project — and she wasn’t even in the room, according to Sue Monehan, the Associate Provost for Program Development at Western. The Willamette Promise is a project focused on designing and evaluating an accelerated credit program for high school students from Eugene all the way to the Portland Metro area. Dr. Paraskevas was one of the founding members of the project, stepping in just nine months after its establishment; now, she’s stepping down from that position, but her legacy of advocacy for both educators and students endures. 

Through the Willamette Promise, Dr. Paraskevas has led the state in innovative practices, creating models for teaching an accelerated credit program focused around the idea of college-level portfolios that are manually assessed for proficiency. This ensures that the work of college-level high school students reflects the skills they need to further their education. She has testified in front of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission on behalf of the project and spoken with faculty at other institutions, which, according to Dr. Monehan, hasn’t always been well-received, as much of her work challenges popular practices — like the five-paragraph essay. Nevertheless, by working with over 100 teachers, she has enabled approximately 1,700 students to earn college credit for Writing 121 and sometimes Writing 122.

“I watched Dr. Paraskevas work with teachers in the region and faculty around the state … I watched her and her colleagues develop resources for teachers that are changing the way teachers approach teaching in high schools, said Dr. Monehan, “she has a much richer understanding of what students can do with writing if they engage in a writing process.” At Western, Dr. Paraskevas is known as a student advocate; it took her over seven years to convince the university to adopt the Integrated English Studies program — which aids students in graduating with less credits while also gaining in-depth knowledge in a variety of English-related fields. Her other accomplishments include providing a valuable perspective by sitting on the Board of Trustees, advising and advocating for dozens of students and being an active scholar in her field — regularly publishing material. 

Of Dr. Paraskevas’ continuous advocacy for students on campus, Dr. Monehan relayed, “she’s very centered on what it is you’re learning and how it’s contributing to your learning, and making sure that everything you’re doing is for the students and their learning and not our own purposes … she’s trying to figure out how to build and enhance who students are and what they will be able to do in the world.”

Dr. Paraskevas is reportedly retiring at the end of the 2021 school year, but as Dr. Monehan stated, “I believe that she will continue to make a difference. She may be retiring, but I don’t think she’s going to stop working with our schools.”

Statements from Western Students regarding Dr. Paraskevas: 

Sean Tellvik: “One of my favorite things about Dr. Paraskevas is how student-oriented she is. In the classes I’ve taken with her, she has been highly receptive to content students are struggling with, and she changes her approach accordingly, whether that is by adjusting the lessons or providing more resources. To me personally, she has been supportive and encouraging, even outside of just Linguistics, which has helped me gain confidence in my abilities.”

Noah Nieves-Driver: “Cornelia helped me find my passion in langauges and linguistics. I am thankful to have had such an amazing teacher and person be a part of my schooling.”

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Sean: Courtesy of Sean Tellvik

Noah: Courtesy of Noah Nieves-Driver