Commencement Profile: Katie M. Sclafani

Katie Sclafani has earned her master of science in education degree as a literacy specialist.

Sclafani will receive the President’s Medal for Outstanding Graduate Student during the 6:00 p.m. master’s hooding and C.A.S. ceremony at Buffalo State's 140th Commencement, Saturday, May 12, in the Sports Arena.

She attained a GPA of 3.91 and earned enthusiastic praise from faculty for her tireless and cheerful attitude, her leadership abilities, and her exemplary lesson plans and scholarly papers. Before beginning the graduate program, Sclafani also completed her undergraduate study in elementary education and reading at Buffalo State.

One professor was so impressed with Sclafani’s academic achievements and personal demeanor that she tapped her to assist with a new community reading program, the Global Book Hour. This dynamic project connected Elementary Education and Reading Department students with young children and their families in a community partnership with Wegmans. Each week, they focused on a different country by reading aloud to the children and organizing a corresponding activity and related food.

Through this project, Sclafani became adept at approaching faculty members and parents from multiple ethnic backgrounds while meeting the needs of the students. The experience also catapulted Sclafani to the national and international stage, where she presented the project’s findings at numerous conferences. She participated in two conferences: “Your Neighborhood Grocery Store: The Role of the Global Book Project in a Non-Traditional Urban Professional Development School Setting” at the Professional Development Schools National Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March 2011, and “It Truly Takes a Village: Developing a Non-Traditional College-Community Partnership to Increase Teacher Candidates’ Global Awareness through Children’s Literature” at the International Reading Association’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida, in May 2011.

Sclafani also served as a graduate assistant in the Elementary Education and Reading Department and worked as a representative of the Professional Development Schools Consortium, where she coordinated retreats, events, and materials. She further connected Buffalo State to the community by coordinating a College Bound event, promoting college attendance to elementary school children.

Through all these endeavors, Sclafani earned a reputation for being exceptionally responsible, skilled, and dedicated to her work.