2022 TOP Fellow of the Year

The Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) is pleased to announce that Ms. Andrea Lance of Columbia, SC, has been selected as the 2022 TOP Fellow of the Year!

Andrea was selected as a TOP fellow and traveled to Germany in 2016. During her study tour, she learned about modern Germany and the Syrian refugee crisis, which inspired her upon her return to design lessons to help diverse students make global connections. As a TOP alumna, Andrea has advised TOP as a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Alumni Group and has led professional development workshops as a TOP Network Trainer Specialist. In 2020, Andrea participated in TOP’s virtual study tour as a panelist for the “Transatlantic Discussion between Educators” session. In 2020 and 2021, she served as an author for “Let’s Explore Modern Germany: Inquiry Edition,” TOP’s newest instructional guide for middle school classrooms. This past summer, Andrea supported the program as a consultant for the TOP / Halle Foundation study tour for preservice teachers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the state of Georgia, which was designed to share information with diverse stakeholders on the importance of making connections for students to better understand contemporary Germany.

In conferring this distinction, TOP recognizes and celebrates Andrea’s dedication to strengthening and advancing the relationship between Germany and North America through education. This award represents our gratitude for Andrea’s generosity with her time and expertise. She is a leader among her fellow educators, and we are delighted to honor her achievements with this award.

Andrea Lance is the Statewide Manager of Strategic Partnerships for Discovery Education. In her role, she facilitates strategic discussions with state departments of education and school districts to transform teaching and learning by implementing a standards-based K–12 digital curriculum. Before transitioning into educational technology, Andrea served as a district consultant providing guidance to teachers, administrators, and district staff on developing high-impact learning environments and leveraging instructional resources. However, her favorite role has been as a middle school world history teacher, where she was a team leader, department chair, and Teacher of the Year. In 2016, she was honored with the Richland School District One Superintendent’s award as a District Teacher of the Year finalist.

Andrea earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from South Carolina State University and her Master’s Degree in Education from Columbia College. She is also pursuing a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Practice and Innovation from the University of South Carolina. In addition to her professional work, Andrea is an active volunteer working to advance leadership opportunities for women and refining systems and processes to improve the volunteer experience with nonprofits. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Columbia and as a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging task force member for the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI). Based on her work in the Junior League, Andrea has received the Nancy Mayer Dunbar Leadership Award and the President’s Award for continuing the tradition and vision of making the Junior League a better organization through outstanding “in-League” service. Last, she is a lifelong Delta Sigma Theta Sorority member and a proud graduate of Leadership Columbia through the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

Morgan Pye, a participant on the 2022 TOP / Halle Foundation Study Tour for preservice teachers at HBCUs in the state of Georgia, practices speaking English with a student at the Jakob-Stoll-Realschule in Würzburg, Germany.

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