Pi Beta Phi - University of Colorado

A s a first-grade teacher at Foothill Elementary, Jeanne Jackson Naber '86 has enjoyed educating young minds in the Boulder community with the help of Pi Beta Phi values she learned in Colorado Alpha. Jeanne's passion for education was evident at CU when she served as Colorado Alpha's Vice President of Academics, and it hasn't wavered in recent months despite the challenges of teaching and caring for students virtually during a pandemic. "I am one of the many educators and administrative volunteers who continues to support our families over the summer by delivering district-provided food weekly," Jeanne said. "This service is free and available to any family with children that attend school in our district and request this support. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this amazing organization and of the work we have done together in supporting our school community during the pandemic." Along with being the best teacher she can for her students, Jeanne remains dedicated to building friends and leaders for life through Pi Beta Phi. Jeanne was proud to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, who were initiated at Nebraska Beta. Her Pi Phi Pride reached a new level when her daughter, Grace Naber '19, joined Colorado Alpha. "It has been fun to attend Pi Phi functions with Grace and visit her while she lived in the house last year," Jeanne said. "Each time I visit, I am still in awe of the beautiful Colorado Alpha chapter house at 890 11 th Street." Unfortunately, Grace's time in the chapter house was cut short last spring due to COVID-19. Jeanne and Grace have done their part in slowing the spread of COVID- 19, but it isn't the only crisis they are taking a stand against. Jeanne is encouraging everyone to be proactive in putting an end to systemic racism. "My vision is that, as an organization, Pi Beta Phi continues its commitment to educating our members on issues of diversity, equity and inclusivity so we can address — and heal — the systemic problems regarding racism in our country," Jeanne said. As an educator, making every student feel respected and included during these unprecedented times has been of the utmost importance to Jeanne. She hopes to see spirit of inclusion continue to spread throughout Pi Beta Phi's strong sisterhood to change the world for the better. She believes in being the change you want to see in the world and implores her sisters to do the same. Pi Beta Phi's preliminary action plan to fight racial injustice is a step forward, and Jeanne is an advocate for inclusion, equity and diverse representation in our sisterhood. "Through ongoing diversity training and thoughtful, even difficult conversations, we can empower our members to be part of the solution. I would like to see us recruiting more diverse new member classes so that all women's voices are represented in our organization," Jeanne said. "Let's continue to evolve the way we have done things in the past and move forward with a lens of inclusion and equity for all. Together, we can create meaningful change." Jeanne Jackson Naber Employs Pi Phi Values as an Educator and Advocate for Inclusion PAGE 2 S tephanie Aleman Sciez '99 will always be thankful for how her Colorado Alpha sisters took her under their wings. They showed Stephanie the way in college and enriched her life with new ideas and expectations for what she wanted beyond college. Now, twenty years after joining Pi Beta Phi, Stephanie is about to begin her 15 th year of teaching, a career grounded in Pi Phi's philanthropy mission of promoting literacy. Stephanie teaches at Lansing Community Elementary School, where she is a literacy instructional support teacher. She works with students who have been identified as having a reading deficiency and are performing below grade level. "I love my job because I love the kids I work with. My school is highly impacted and has a very high turnover rate of children from beginning of each year to the end," Stephanie said. "My experience has been so rewarding because I have a staff who supports my work and students who enjoy meeting with me." The last month of the school year is usually a mutual favorite between Stephanie and her students. The first through fourth graders get to put on readers' theater performances while the fifth graders get to pick a celebrity or artist they want to learn more about. Due to COVID-19, those plans were unfortunately canceled or modified with classes shifting online. "I couldn't end the year with those fun reading activities or say goodbye to my fifth graders, who are off to middle school. With the adversity my students already struggle with, the impact was even greater for them," Stephanie said. "I uploaded weekly books for my 17 groups and videos of me reading each book. Then, I held private one-on-one reading A LEADER IN PI PHI'S LITERACY LEGACY Stephanie Aleman Sciez Shares Challenges of Teaching During COVID-19

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