College of Education

UMW Senior Finds the ‘Joy of Teaching’ Special Education

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Mollie Moomaw thought she’d follow in her parents’ footsteps, attending the same small private college that they did. Instead, she fell in love with her grandmother’s alma mater as soon as she stepped onto the University of Mary Washington campus.

“We all knew then that this was where I was meant to be,” said Mollie, who hails from Harrisonburg, Virginia. The UMW senior enjoys sharing Mary Washington stories with her grandmother, Pamela Rave Hall ’71, and is amused that she dined in Seacobeck Hall, now home to UMW’s College of Education. “I study in the Dome Room, where she used to eat lunch!”

Student smiling in front of Virginia Hall.
Mollie Moomaw ’26, an elementary education major and disability studies minor with a special education endorsement, earned the Joy of Teaching and Claudia Moore Read Dance scholarships. Photo courtesy of Mollie Moomaw.

An elementary education major and disability studies minor with a special education endorsement, Mollie has gained critical skills for working with students receiving individualized support and their caregivers. The recipient of the Joy of Teaching and Claudia Moore Read Dance scholarships, she has applied her learning in public school classrooms while pursuing extracurricular activities and leadership roles on campus.

“I was genuinely shocked when I earned these awards,” said Mollie, president of UMW’s Performing Arts Company, Club Swim, and Talk to the Hands sign language club. She also serves as vice president of Mortar Board and the Kappa Delta Pi educational honor society and works as a house manager in Dodd Auditorium. “It means so much to be recognized and reminded that I’m here for the right reasons.”

Her most fulfilling work has been helping disabled students and their families navigate the educational system. “I’ve had hard cases, but it’s reinforced that I want to make a difference,” said Mollie, who recently gained hands-on experience in a fifth-grade classroom in Stafford County. “It was so cool seeing how the teacher adapted her lessons for different learners.”

A smiling student and donor seated at a table.
Mollie Moomaw ’26 and one of her donors, UMW Foundation Board of Trustees member Vicky Nichols Wilder ’80, who serves on the Friends of Dance board and helped establish the Claudia Moore Read Dance Scholarship that Mollie received. The pair enjoyed lunch together at the 2026 Scholarship Luncheon and Student Showcase. Photo by K Pearlman Photography.

She’s grateful for supportive UMW faculty like Melissa Wells and Alexis Rutt – who was, coincidentally, also her sixth-grade science teacher – for helping her develop the knowledge and compassion needed to work effectively with neurodivergent students.

After graduation, Mollie has a job waiting for her in her hometown and plans to pursue a master’s degree while teaching. She’ll bring her UMW education into her own classroom, especially when it comes to meeting students where they are.

“It’s important that they create connections and learn communication skills,” she said of the challenging but rewarding experience of teaching two nonverbal teens last summer. “And at the end of the day, I want my students to feel happy and safe.”

This article originally ran in the FY2024-25 Endowment Report. Story by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04. 

Called to the Classroom

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Mary Washington alumna’s commitment to elementary education helps aspiring teachers launch their careers 

Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 discovered her calling to become an elementary school teacher when she was in fifth grade. Earning a bachelor’s degree from Mary Washington helped her reach that goal – and dedicate her life to supporting future educators and public education in Virginia.

An alumna from the Class of 1966.
Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 spent nearly four decades as an elementary school educator and advocate for public schools. She has supported UMW education students by establishing a teaching scholarship and award. She recently endowed the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Washington Scholarship.

“It was a career that I knew I could do well,” said Barbara, who taught students in second through fifth grade in Richmond area public schools for nearly four decades.

Barbara wanted to ensure that education students at the University of Mary Washington could reach their own goals of becoming teachers, so she created the Mann College of Education Scholarship and the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Virginia Educator Award. For years, she’d return to campus each spring to bestow the award on a promising student in UMW’s College of Education (COE). Barbara also recently established the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Washington Scholarship, which will provide full tuition, fees, and housing and dining to a selected student and is renewable up to four years.

“I’ve always loved reading and learning, and I hope to share that passion with my future students,” said McKayla Steeves ’27, who earned the Mann College of Education Scholarship, one of nearly 30 students who’ve benefited from Barbara’s gifts to Mary Washington over the years. “This contribution makes a real difference in my education and allows me to continue working toward my dream of making a positive impact in the lives of students.”

Barbara decided on her career at an early age because of the wonderful teachers who made an impact on her, including her grandmother and her father, who taught high school chemistry and mathematics before enlisting in the Army and becoming a career officer.

Photo of a student from 1966 Battlefield Yearbook.
Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 in Mary Washington’s Battlefield Yearbook. Photo courtesy of UMW Special Collections and University Archives.

Her family moved across the country and overseas throughout her childhood, leading Barbara to attend 12 different schools. She met longtime friend and Mary Washington classmate Anne Meade Clagett ’66, whose family was also in the military, when they both enrolled at McLean High School in Virginia during their junior year.

“We knew what it was like to always be the new kid,” said Anne, recalling that Barbara’s parents and her brother, Jim, moved to Italy around the time they started college. “When she got to Mary Washington, she truly felt like it was home.”

Barbara took several education and psychology courses in college but never had the chance to manage a classroom until her first job. She began her career in rural and inner-city schools in Alabama, and moved to Virginia Beach when she got married, where she was granted a provisional teaching license.

Determined, she spent the next nine years working evenings and weekends to earn a master’s degree in elementary education, with a concentration in reading diagnosis and remediation, and a post-graduate collegiate professional certificate through Old Dominion University. She then took a job with the public school system in Chesterfield County, Virginia, where she spent the rest of her career.

“My principal saw me coming and said, ‘Have I got a class for you!’” Barbara told UMW students when she came to campus as COE’s Educator-in-Residence in 2013.

She recalled how she helped her third graders who were struggling with reading by borrowing resources from colleagues and the school library and spending hours copying reading materials every night after work. With the help of parents and classroom aides, she and her students wrote and illustrated stories and created their own books. She read to them every day and met them at their level, helping to increase their confidence to become better readers.

“If you work hard and do what you love, the kids can feel it,” Barbara said. “And they’ll learn. If you have expertise, and it’s meaningful, you can teach anything with nothing.”

But she realized educators required more resources and support to help their students thrive. Her own first-grade teacher became a mentor, encouraging Barbara to get involved in the Virginia Education Association. She served on the organization’s board for many years, advocating for teachers across the Commonwealth, and later joined VEA Retired.

Laura Gomez ’13, M.Ed. ’14 with Barbara after receiving the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Virginia Educator Award in 2014.
Barbara (center, left) with her fellow 2016 Alumni Association Award recipients (from left) Matthew Becker ’06, Karen Laino Giannuzzi ’71, and Bryan Campbell ’06 (not pictured, Linda Jones ’80).
Barbara (center) with her classmates Winnie Woodson Stribling (left) and Eleanor McJilton Thompson (right) when the Class of 1966 celebrated its 50th Reunion Weekend in 2016.
Barbara (left) and 1966 classmate Kitty Downs Gregg at Reunion Weekend in 2016.
Barbara, who served on UMW’s Alumni Association Board of Directors and the College of Education Advisory Board, receives the Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award from Gayle Weinberger Petro ’79 in 2016.
Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 (second from right) with her 1966 classmates at her 50th Reunion Weekend in 2016. From left: Patricia Johnson Orgain, Mary Grace Wright Day, Kay Dawson Meyers, Barbara Bishop Mann, and Grace Marie Bamforth Garriott.

She has also remained committed to her alma mater through her generous gifts and as a past member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and numerous reunion committees, which earned her the Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award in 2016.

“Barbara has been a fierce advocate for Virginia teachers,” said College of Education Dean Pete Kelly, who worked with Barbara when she served on the COE Advisory Board. “I greatly benefited from her wise counsel, and our students have truly benefited from her generosity over the years.”

Like the ones she spoke with as COE’s Educator-in-Residence. When she summed up her lifetime of dedication and advocacy more than a decade ago, she wished them similar success in their own careers.

“You’re smart, you’re educated,” she said, “and you’re going to make those who came before you proud.”

Learn more about establishing scholarships, including Washington and Alvey scholarships, and how private support makes a difference in the lives of UMW students who receive scholarships, research fellowships, and internship grants. Find scholarship opportunities that are available to UMW students, including Washington and Alvey scholarships. 

-Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04

Alumna’s Gift Creates Collaboration Space for Aspiring Teachers

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When Helen Chiles Mason ’50 graduated from Mary Washington, she immediately set out on a cross-country road trip, landing a teaching job when she arrived in California.

Helen's children (from left) Ann, Lee, Ben, and Mary Margaret visited the University of Mary Washington on Nov. 21 to dedicate the Mason Team Room in honor of their late parents.
Helen’s children (from left) Ann, Lee, Ben, and Mary Margaret visited the University of Mary Washington on Nov. 21 to dedicate the Mason Team Room in honor of their late parents.

Helen, who earned a degree in dramatic arts, spent her years passing along a love of learning to her elementary school students and her four children. So, when she passed away on Thanksgiving Day in 2021, Helen found her way back to her alma mater in the form of a generous unrestricted gift to the University of Mary Washington, which put the funds toward a collaboration space for aspiring educators.

Nearly a year later, the University dedicated the Mason Team Room – named for Helen and her late husband, Judge Leslie Mason Jr. – on Nov. 21, 2022, in the newly renovated Seacobeck Hall, now home to the College of Education (COE) and the Office of Disability Resources. The couple’s four children and a grandson traveled across the commonwealth, the country, and the globe to attend the ceremony and see Helen’s wishes carried out.

Helen Chiles Mason's photo from The Battlefield yearbook in 1950. Photo courtesy of Special Collections and Archives.
Helen Chiles Mason’s photo from The Battlefield yearbook in 1950. Photo courtesy of Special Collections and Archives.

“Our education students are … eager to have spaces like this where they can collaborate, engage in discussions, and share ideas,” COE Dean Pete Kelly said. Prior to the ceremony, he gave the family a private tour of Seacobeck Hall, including the Mason Team Room, already being utilized by students.

Having access to spaces like this where education students can work as teams, Dean Kelly said, means that “when they graduate, they are well-equipped to meet the needs of future generations of students.”

Assistant Vice President of Gift Planning Jan Clarke read the Board of Visitors’ resolution and explained at the dedication how naming gifts can help teach the UMW community about the value of philanthropy. “Many of the beautiful places we enjoy on campus are because of private support from generous donors like Helen, who want to help the University move forward.”

Jan also thanked the Mason family for traveling such long distances – some came from California and even Vietnam – to visit Mary Washington and celebrate their mother and grandmother’s life. “Especially her time on this campus that shaped her during her formative years,” he said.

The Mason Team Room will be used as a collaboration space for students in the College of Education.
Helen’s grandson, Ben; daughters Mary Margaret, Lee, and Ann; and son Ben pose for a photo in Seacobeck’s Dome Room after dedicating the Mason Team Room in honor of their parents.

Ben Mason, Helen’s son, expressed gratitude on behalf of his family to the University for finding such a fitting way to pay tribute to his late parents.

“Education was so important to both of them,” he said. “Mom liked teamwork and for people to gather together, so we appreciated that you did this for her, for us, and for Mary Washington.”

For information on naming gifts at the University of Mary Washington, please contact the Office of University Advancement at advance@umw.edu or 540-654-1024.

– Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04