Barbara Carver Johnson and Scott Bowen are honored
In late March, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District honored two graduates of Central High School at the fourth annual Distinguished Graduates Award reception held at the Hopewell Valley Golf Club.
This year’s honorees graduated from CHS exactly 20 years apart.
Barbara Carver Johnson was nominated by a longtime friend of her family, Mrs. Alva Hart. Ms. Johnson was a member of Central High School’s Class of 1967. After graduation, she obtained a bachelor’s degree from Radford University in 1972, and two years later earned a master’s degree from Clemson University. In the 34 years since then, she has taught hundreds of young children, especially those with learning disabilities and special needs, as well as both aspiring and practicing teachers.
In addition to teaching children with cognitive and learning disabilities, her areas of specialization include teaching emotionally disturbed children as well as the teaching of remedial reading and math.
In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wis. In 2001 Ms. Johnson was recognized by the University of Pittsburgh for her development of an Exemplary Program for Intergenerational Education. In 2003 she was honored as Wisconsin’s Teacher of the Year; and in April 2005, she and her fellow teachers of the year were honored at a White House reception by President and Mrs. George W. Bush.
Scott Bowen, CHS Class of 1987, earned a bachelor’s degree from The College of New Jersey in 1991, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In 1994 he received his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina, where his thesis advisor was poet James Dickey and where he also taught as an adjunct professor in the English Department.
Mr. Bowen has been an associate editor of "Outdoor Life" magazine, senior editor at "Field and Stream," and is outdoors editor at Lyons Press in Guilford, Conn. During a decade in New York City, Mr. Bowen also wrote and edited for "American Angler," "ESPN2," "Fortune Small Business," "New York Press" and "Saltwater Fly Fishing."
In addition, he is the author of a collection of short stories, "The Midnight Fish and Other Stories," published in 2001; short stories published in "The Yale Anglers’ Journal"; and a novel, "C.J. Dooley," currently seeking a publisher. Mr. Bowen was nominated by his former English teacher, T. Coerte Hutchinson. Mr. Bowen also wrote for the Hopewell Valley News back in the 1980s.
Both graduates spent March 31 at Central High School with members of the high school faculty and staff and with the students. The Distinguished Graduate Awards are made possible by a generous grant from Merrill Lynch and with the cooperation of the Hopewell Valley Education Foundation.