Shaneeka Favors

Shaneeka Favors-Welch received a B.S in Mathematics from Southern Polytechnic University, a M.A.T in Mathematics from Clayton State University, and is currently pursing a Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Teacher and Teacher Education from Georgia State University. Deciding to become a secondary mathematics teacher has been the best career decision ever, because she gets to combine both her love of math and being involved with teenagers. As a pillar in her community she teaches the youth that they are not statistics, but instead bright and intelligent humans that have a history of greatness within them. In 2008 she founded G.R.O.W.E (Giving Resources and Opportunities to Women through Education), a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring young adults and advancing women in STEM fields. To date the organization has partnered with I AM TECH located in Freetown, Sierra Leone to provide two full tuition scholarships for women in computer networking. In 2014 she was selected to teach mathematics and physics in Guangzhou, China as a part of a new Georgia State University initiative. This immersion experience proved to be challenging and fun as she navigated living in a new country. In 2016 she participated in a three-week study abroad trip to South Africa to develop a deeper knowledge base in critical studies. Earlier this year she was invited to serve as voting board member of the Community Development Center organization. Her professional interests include teacher education, international comparative education, critical race theory, critical quantitative methods, and program evaluation. She hopes to make her mark on the world by engaging preservice teachers in emancipatory practices needed to move them from being consumers of knowledge to become producers of knowledge.