New England Educational Opportunity Association President Stephanie Cruz with Dave Megquier.

The New England Educational Opportunity Association has awarded former Project Director Dave Megquier their highest honor, the Claiborne Pell Award. Congratulations Dave on this well deserved recognition!

From the NEOA website:

The Claiborne Pell Award is established to recognize those rare individuals whose pioneering leadership and vision have made an indelible mark on the struggle for equal educational opportunity. It was Pell’s leadership and vision that led to the creation of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG). Now called the Pell Grant, the BEOG was designed to be the backbone of the federal government’s financial aid program. Pell recognized that the future of the country was dependent on an investment in the development of low income students.

 

The Pell Award is given to individuals whose work the President and the Board of Directors believe is breaking new ground in the effort to provide greater educational opportunity to people from low income backgrounds. The Board considers the following criteria:

 

• Vision – conceiving innovative future solutions to problems.

• Leadership – is able to bring together a broad based coalition to implement solutions

• Broad Impact – large numbers of students are effected by the individual’s work; institutions are also impacted.