Hana Burkly

I plan to continue my work in the classroom, mentoring, teaching, and supporting young scholars as they build the toolkit they will need to be successful leaders in their communities and beyond. Eventually, I hope to use my experience working with not-for-profit organizations to build a diverse coalition of educators, students, families, and policymakers with the goal of ensuring that all students have access to an excellent education.

During my time at Johns Hopkins, I have noticed that the platforms used in many online courses could be greatly improved. I am currently developing a platform that will provide a more intuitive, comprehensible learning experience with a focus on learner variance, which I will present to the instructors in the Fall of 2020. In order to research the best online platform models, I am taking a class called "Designing and Delivering Online and Blended Learning Environments" this summer. Hopefully, my work will help to reshape the structure of distance learning at the graduate level, especially as classes continue to be administered online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I love being physically active, while also being active in my community!
As president of the boxing team at Georgetown, I trained and mentored a team of twenty athletes and prepared them for their matches. Upon graduating, I sought to continue coaching, so I started a program in my neighborhood called Dukes Up, where children and adults can learn boxing basics and self-defense. It is non-contact, and aims at technique and conditioning, rather than sparring. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, when gyms closed, my program has become very popular in my neighborhood, and a great way to connect with new people!
I am also a yoga enthusiast, and am currently earning my certification as a yoga instructor. I hope to bring the principles of mindfulness into my classroom by having students take time to reflect, journal, and re-focus at the end of class.
In addition to being active, I love reading! My favorite author is Isabel Allende. I get the most excited when I get to teach her works of literature and poetry in my Spanish classroom.