Dr. Sibani Sengupta and Sacha Kelly, second and third from left,are congratulated by previous recipients, from left, Miguel Cardona, Violet Jiménez Sims and Chi-Ann Lin. 

Sacha Kelly, a student at Saint Joseph College, and Sibani Sengupta, Ph.D., a graduate of the University of Connecticut and the Alternate Route to Certification, have been chosen as 2009 recipients of Alma Exley Memorial Scholarships. They were honored at a reception on May 20, at Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford.

Ms. Kelly, a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, New York City, received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Hartford, and is scheduled to receive a master’s degree in education in 2009 from St. Joseph College, West Hartford. She has accepted a teaching position at Big Picture High School in Bloomfield, Conn.

Dr. Sengupta holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Calcutta, India, and a Ph.D. from UConn. She earned her Connecticut teaching certificate through the Alternate Route to Certification in August 2008, and she is teaching biology and genetics at Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden. She is the fourth recipient to be recognized from the Alternate Route to Certification, a state-run program that enables professionals from various fields to become teachers in Connecticut’s public schools.

Ms. Kelly and Dr. Sengupta join 17 previous recipients of Alma Exley Scholarships from Central Connecticut State University, Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, St. Joseph College, Southern Connecticut State University, Yale University, and the Alternate Route to Certification. Previous recipients are making a difference in classrooms in Avon, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven and Westport, Conn., as well as in California, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

Posted May 21, 2009