Only four weeks until the end of the semester! We had a great virtual open house event on Saturday with lots of prospective students. We have several more virtual events planned throughout the spring and would love some of our wonderful students to serve on panels. If you are interested in speaking on a panel at a future admissions event, please reach out to Anna Harris at anna.harris@salem.edu.

The Office of Admissions is working hard to recruit more Salem Siblings this spring. We began offering on-campus tours to prospective students a few weeks ago, and this has been an exciting step in our safe return to normalcy. We are continuing to offer daily personalized, virtual tours with the help of our awesome Admissions Ambassadors. If you are interested in becoming an Admissions Ambassador, please reach out to us! You can email Joanne Reed at joanne.reed@salem.edu.

Salem has accepted some very promising students and we are excited to keep admitting more! Our new focus on Health Leadership is going to be a great tool for recruiting dedicated scholars. If you know a student who would be a good fit for Salem, please send her our way! We would love to introduce her to the Salem that you know and love.

Ray Celeste Tanner
Assistant Director of Admissions and Communications

Hello Salem Sibs! I am a graduate student in the Master of Education (MEd) in Educational Leadership program at Salem College. I have been a special education teacher for eight years, and I currently work at Ledford High School in Davidson County, where I am also the club liaison for our Unified Champions Club.

In August 2020, after an intense application process, we were notified that our school had been selected to be recognized as a National Banner School by Special Olympics North America for exemplifying and fostering an inclusive school culture through academics, athletics, and youth leadership. Becoming a National Banner School is one of my greatest accomplishments as an educator, and with this incredible honor, amazing opportunities have presented themselves this year.

I have had the opportunity to host a number of virtual youth leadership events for other schools across the state this year. It has been such a wonderful experience to see so many students with and without disabilities develop into such wonderful young leaders.

Earlier this month, I received a letter from Special Olympics North Carolina that one of my Unified Pairs (students with and without a disability) and I had been selected to represent the state of North Carolina at the Inclusive Youth Leadership Experience at the Special Olympics USA Games in June 2022 in Orlando, Florida!

Special Olympics International will host more than 5,500 athletes and coaches from all 50 states and the Caribbean who will travel to Florida to unite in one of the country’s most cherished sporting events. I could not be more excited to represent my school, community, and state, but also to represent Salem College and the Educational Leadership program as well. I will spend the week among some of the greatest leaders in the nation as I am immersed in the Inclusive Youth Leadership Experience. As a future school leader, I know that this opportunity will allow me to continue to develop into the most inclusive school leader that I could possibly be.

Savannah Sperlazza
Graduate Student in the MEd in Educational Leadership Program

This week, we are pleased to profile the final member of the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees 250th Subcommittee in We Are Salem.

Mary Lou Ford Stott C’69, lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and has worked from 1982 to the present in the insurance industry as a licensed sales agent, concentrating in the areas of employee benefits and as a financial and Medicare consultant. Her professional designations include Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Certified Senior Advisor (CSA).  She is an active member and choir member of Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem including serving on their board for two four-year terms.  She has been a volunteer with numerous nonprofit and charitable organizations including Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, Imprints, the Salem Band, and many more.