Selena Kwok

“I’m passionate about creative writing, and spend my free time practicing and researching. My goal is to become an author,” says Selena Kwok of Marlboro, N.J. Selena is an English and Literary Studies major with a Creative Writing concentration. She has a 3.6 GPA.

She is the current treasurer of Dumbledore’s Army, a literary focused club. In the upcoming year she will serve as the Treasurer of the Midnight Book Club and Secretary of PRIDE Club.

Selena worked as a voluntary summer camp counselor at JEI Learning Center before being promoted to a paid position of teacher assistant. She taught English and Math to students from the ages of 5 to 14, and achieved the rank of black belt in East Coast Karate informally in 2017 and formally in 2020.

Awarded Scholarships

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2023

Burchell, Helen Memorial Scholarship

Helen Burchell was a member of the founding faculty at Ramapo College, joining the faculty as an associate professor of Education in 1971. She was director of Clinical Experiences for beginning teachers and served as an administrator in the Teacher Education program until 1987 when she focused on academic outreach, special projects, and grants. Her command of the English language and her editorial skills were a tremendous resource for faculty, especially in terms of grant-seeking.

For 25 years Dr. Burchell was the director of The Record Debate Classic at Ramapo College, a tournament for high school debate teams from across the region. She also served on the Donald G. and Flora A. Borg Merit Scholarship Award committee for more than a decade.

Helen Burchell grew up in New England “amongst a large and busy family” according to her brother William. Dr. Burchell earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 1953 and a master and doctoral degree in Education from Columbia University Teacher’s College. She taught at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1962 until 1971.

Dr. Burchell had an avid interest in American antiques. “Never again shall I encounter anyone so prodigiously skilled in acquiring antiquity nor so disarming in negotiations with dealers,” continues her brother William.

Dr. Burchell died suddenly in 2004, just three months after her retirement from Ramapo College. In recognition of her many years of service to Ramapo, the Ramapo College Foundation Board of Governors created this endowed scholarship in her memory.