Congratulations to Our
2012 Student Award Recipients!

Diane Cavanaugh
Professor of Special Education
East Stoudsburg University
East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Diane Cavanaugh has been a professor of Special Education at East Stroudsburg University for more than 21 years. Thanks to the hard work and pioneering vision of Cavanaugh, the CEC chapter of East Stroudsburg University, where she is the university sponsor, offers many longstanding services and events for exceptional members of the community. The chapter’s activities include volunteering at St. Josephs Center, a horseback riding club for students with disabilities, organizing a Penny Carnival, and participating in a community “Buddy Walk” to raise awareness for individuals with disabilities. One of Cavanaugh’s nominators writes, “As a professor she models both the strength and kindness it takes to teach special education. Professor Cavanaugh sets high standers in her classroom, but she is there to help students every step of the way.”

Kelly Carrero
Graduate Student
University of North Texas - Denton
Denton, Texas

Kelly M. Carrero has been active in several divisions of CEC, including the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD), Division for Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL), Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES), Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD), Division for Research (DR), and Teacher Education Division (TED). Currently, Carrero sits on DDEL’s Professional Development committee. In addition, Carrero served as the student editor for CEC Today in 2011. She is earning her doctorate in special education with an emphasis in emotional and behavioral disorders from the University of North Texas – Denton. One of her nominator’s writes, “Kelly is an amazing teacher and her biggest gift to our field of special education is that she has so much love for children and families affected by exceptionalities. She devotes all of her energy into providing a better future for children and youth with exceptionalities, as well as their families.”

Sara Graves
Undergraduate Student
East Carolina University
Greenville, N.C.

Sara Graves currently serves as the president of the East Carolina University’s CEC, where she has been a member for three years and also served as vice president. Graves is also serving her second year on the North Carolina CEC State Board as a student representative, a position that was created for her. Under Graves’s leadership, the student chapters across the state organized a book drive, where they collected and delivered more than 1,200 books to a Title I school in Winston Salem during the North Carolina CEC State Convention. Academically, she is consistently an honor student. She made all A’s last semester while volunteering weekly.  One of her nominators writes, “Her leadership style is one that invites others in, makes them feel valued, gets them involved, and builds a team. She takes very little, if any, credit for her successes. She truly has a special gift for leading and serving.”