Class of ’54 Commitment to Teaching Fellowship for Alumni Recipients 2026
Amherst is proud of its graduates who have chosen to teach in urban and other school systems where students may be considered “at risk” or are socio-economically disadvantaged. Through the generosity of the Class of 1954, which has established a Commitment to Teaching Fund, Amherst is able each year to award stipends to a limited number of Amherst graduates who committed themselves to teaching in underserved communities across the United States.
The 2026 awardee biographies are listed below.
Jes-c French ’11 is an English language arts and theater teacher at Holyoke JR/SR High School in Holyoke, Colorado. She is currently in her sixth year of teaching, all in extremely small rural schools. Early in her career, Jes-c began teaching concurrent enrollment college English classes at the high school, recognizing the importance of providing access to college-level classes for her students. Drawing on her newspaper background, she also serves as the yearbook advisor and teaches junior high journalism. This year, she developed a new performing arts class, which supplements the extracurricular theater program she has directed for the past three years.
Jes-c grew up in Holyoke, Colorado, and graduated from the high school where she now teaches. While at Amherst, she majored in psychology, worked in the theater and dance department, and was a member of Amherst Christian Fellowship. Although she pursued teaching at the high school level, she was shaped by her experiences with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Girls Inc. during college. Jes-c later earned her master’s degree in teaching and learning with a specialization in English through Colorado State University Global.
Outside the classroom, Jes-c enjoys reading, photography, music, theater, and playing board games with her friends. Most importantly, she loves spending time with her family, especially her husband, Jimmy, and all their nephews.
Katharina Matro ’01 teaches AP World History and AP Micro- and Macroeconomics at Walter Johnson High School, a large public school in Bethesda, Maryland. Previously, she spent five years teaching history and economics at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, also in Bethesda, and has also taught U.S. history, sociology, Middle East history, and personal finance. Outside of school, she has written social studies curricula for the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C., and Kaleidoscope Education, a D.C. education start-up.
Katharina has served as a councilor on the Teaching Division of the Governing Council for the American Historical Association (AHA). This past year, she co-chaired the AHA Program Committee for their 2026 annual meeting in Chicago and is currently serving on the AHA’s K-12 Education Working Group. Katharina is also serving a three-year term on the Alternative Career Paths Panel for the Association of Slavic, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies, where she uses her platform to tell graduate students to consider teaching as a meaningful career. As part of her work on various AHA committees, Katharina has advocated for history teachers and their independence in the classroom, especially when it comes to teaching so-called “divisive content.” In 2023, she was interviewed by Ken Burns about teaching difficult history to her students for his PBS project UNUM.
Katharina graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College with majors in history and French. She holds a Master of Arts from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Central European History from Stanford University. Her dissertation won the 2016 Fritz Stern Dissertation Prize for the best doctoral dissertation on a topic in German history written at a North American university.
Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, baking, reading, and is working to publish her manuscript. She is also translating hundreds of German letters by her neighbor’s family, who fled the Holocaust for the United States in 1939.
Caroline Rose ’16 is an 8th grade English language arts teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and a Teach Plus Leading Edge fellow. With a commitment to advancing equity and literacy, Caroline is the 8th grade team leader and an instructional coach.
Previously, Caroline taught middle school Latin and coached cross country and track in Washington, D.C., at Washington Latin Public Charter School. She began her teaching career as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. In 2022, Caroline earned a Master of Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education in education leadership, organizations, and entrepreneurship. She graduated from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts in Black Studies and Classics. Caroline fondly looks back at her time at Amherst, where she explored the Pioneer Valley trails as a member of the cross country and track teams and spent many hours hanging out with her friends in Val.
Zavi Sheldon ’18 is a 7th grade humanities teacher at Prospect Hill Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her course blends English language arts and social studies instruction to explore culture, ideas, and the human experience. Students uncover connections and patterns in the world to learn more about themselves, the people around them, and the people who came before them. This is her eighth year in the classroom.
Previously, she taught Honors English in the P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) program at Sunset High School in Dallas, Texas. She was also the 9th grade English lead teacher and English department chair. While at Sunset, she led staff-wide professional development sessions and mentored novice teachers.
In 2020, she earned a Masters of Science in Secondary English Education at Johns Hopkins University and was a policy fellow with Teach Plus Texas in 2022-23. Zavi is also an alumna of City Teaching Alliance, an Americorps-affiliated four-year teacher preparation program that aims to train highly effective teachers for service in under-resourced urban schools. She has continued her involvement with the program for the past five years by conducting final interviews with candidates.
Zavi is from Williamstown, Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude from Amherst with a degree in English. While at Amherst, she was an Education Professions fellow and volunteered as a tutor in Holyoke with El Arco Iris. She also taught summer school at Amherst Regional Middle School and Germantown Friends School with Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia.
Kathy Xiong ’04E teaches 7th and 8th grade students with special needs at Milwaukee Public Schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Licensed in both general and special education, she has worked in various educational settings.
Kathy graduated from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and went on to earn a graduate degree in education from New York University. After teaching 3rd grade for two years in Brooklyn, New York, she returned to her home state of Wisconsin and has been teaching in Milwaukee since 2007.
Kathy and her husband, who is also a teacher, have two children, ages 5 and 12. As a family, one of the things they love to do is bathe in the sun on the Lake Michigan beaches during the summer.
Lawrence Yu ’15 is a science teacher at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York. He began his career in education as a volunteer teaching assistant with City Year, a non-profit organization that partners with schools to provide academic and socioemotional support for at-risk students, an experience that solidified his commitment to education and service as pathways to meaningful change. At Midwood High, Lawrence teaches biology and AP Psychology to a diverse group of students. He crafts his lessons to connect with his students’ backgrounds and experiences, and uses a strength-based approach by leveraging their background knowledge and culture in class discussions and projects. He embodies a growth mindset and models it in class every day so his students can feel the same toward their own progress in class. Over the years, Lawrence has served as a new teacher mentor, art club advisor, and instructional support for his department. He has also supervised an annual, student-led cultural showcase called Asian Fest, and helped plan school events in celebration of Black History Month.
Lawrence believes that a good life is rooted in education and service, which together work to uplift his own life and the lives of those in his communities. He acknowledges that he could not have reached his potential growing up without the guidance of trusted adults and peer mentors, and wants to build a career where he offers that same support to others.
Lawrence graduated from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience. At Amherst College, he worked with the Office of Admissions as a telementor, guiding low-income high school seniors through the college application process, and with the non-profit organization Reader to Reader as a reading buddy for elementary and middle school students, helping foster a love for reading. He finds joy in seeing others grow and being part of their success stories.
Outside of his professional commitments, Lawrence finds balance in running, watching anime, and reading fantasy novels.