Helen Corveleyn, the STEM facilitator at Hopewell Elementary School, has been selected as one of 50 educators for the 15th cohort of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Society Grosvenor Teacher Fellows. This recognition comes as a result of Corveleyn’s commitment to geographic education in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District (HVRSD).
As a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, Corveleyn will embark on an expedition around the world, joining educators from 24 US states, five Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico to enhance their geographic knowledge through hands-on, field-based experiences that they will bring back to their classrooms, communities, and professional networks. The expeditions will take the Fellows to remote locations such as Antarctica, the Galápagos Islands, Australia’s Wild Northwest Kimberley region, the Arctic, and beyond.
“I am honored and delighted to be selected for this tremendous honor,” Corveleyn told MercerMe. “Since I was young, I paged through the National Geographic magazines that came every month. I’ve marveled in the glory of destinations far from home and excitedly dreamed of visiting them someday. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to travel to the Galapagos islands.”
The Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship is named in honor of Gilbert M. Grosvenor, chairman emeritus of the National Geographic Society, in recognition of his decades-long work supporting pre-K–12 teachers and promoting geography education across the United States and Canada. The expeditions were donated in perpetuity to the Society by Sven-Olof Lindblad and Lindblad Expeditions in 2006 to mark Grosvenor’s 75th birthday and honor his service to the enhancement and advancement of geographic education.
The 2023 cohort of Grosvenor Teacher Fellows features a diverse group of formal and informal educators, representing an array of grade levels and subject areas including social studies, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), second-language programs, and art, to name a few. This year’s group includes the first-ever Fellow from Puerto Rico.
“We are very pleased to be honoring this year’s Grosvenor Teacher Fellows as they prepare to embark on their global expeditions,” said National Geographic Society Chief Education Officer Deborah Grayson. “These passionate, deserving educators will have the opportunity to bring real-world experiences back to their classrooms as engaging resources and tools to inspire the next generation of planetary stewards.”
Starting later this year, the 2023 Fellows will begin their 8- to 24-day expeditions aboard several Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic vessels, including National Geographic Explorer, National Geographic Endeavour II, National Geographic Orion, and National Geographic Venture, as well as the company’s two newest polar class vessels, National Geographic Endurance and National Geographic Resolution, to destinations across six continents, including four regions new to the program in 2023, Australia and New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, and Patagonia. While on board, the Fellows will have the unique opportunity to experience landscapes, cultures, and wildlife endemic to some of the world’s most remote regions. They will be accompanied by Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic experts, including knowledgeable naturalists, undersea specialists, and National Geographic photographers.
The Fellowship is open to pre-K–12 educators, who apply and are selected through a competitive application process. Fellows take on a two-year leadership commitment to support National Geographic’s education initiatives and, in addition to being hosted aboard the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet for a life-changing field-based experience, may be asked to conduct webinars, co-design resources, participate in meetups, and serve as mentors to other educators. Learn more about the 2023 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows on the National Geographic Education Blog.
About the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate the wonder of the world, define critical challenges and catalyze action to protect our planet. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 14,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature convenings and content. To learn more, visit www.nationalgeographic.org, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.
