Meredith Frey

Fall 2025 Winner

Meredith Frey approaches the classroom as an intentional space where students are trained in the mind and transformed in the heart. Rooted in deep relational engagement and guided by values of humility, hospitality, and justice, her teaching begins by connecting with each student's personal story through individual leadership launch discussions and consistent welcoming rhythms. In the classroom, she implements an active "celebration cycle"—encompassing celebration, care, challenge, curiosity, and reflection—and utilizes multimodal learning strategies such as Socratic seminars, human continuums, real-world case studies, and role-playing scenarios to cultivate courageous, lifelong leaders. Mentor Dr. Bill Sterrett wrote: "Whether it’s a 20-year-old undergrad or a busy working professional after a long day of teaching middle school science, her students clearly feel supported and make gains due to her instruction..."

Throughout her graduate tenure, Frey has actively pursued rigorous pedagogical development and mentorship across multiple disciplines at Baylor University. Her training includes weekly instructional mentorship and mid-semester classroom observations with Dr. Bill Sterrett, observing master educators like Dr. Jon Eckert to refine interactive teaching methods, and participating in monthly leadership and teaching excellence sessions with Master Teacher Dr. Lenore Wright through Women in the Academy. Furthermore, she has honed her facilitation and curricular skills by leading professional development for Texas and Mississippi educators through the Baylor Center for School Leadership, collaborating on campus sustainability dialogues as a convener for Common Home Fellows, and integrating experiential learning through university arts initiatives.

What Students Say

Prof. Frey balances the two aspects crucial to be a successful teacher gracefully, her commitment to her student’s academic improvement and holding us to a high standard was not expressed without compassion and encouragement every step of the way! Stepping out of my comfort zone became the 'norm' in our intro to leadership class... as a student that had the honor of being in her class I hope Prof. Frey truly knows the impact she had on each of our lives.