The Life and Work of Marcia Gentry: Providing Opportunities and Promoting Excellence

ABSTRACTIn this article, we explore the work of Marcia Gentry as it relates to Project Having Opportunities Promotes Excellence (HOPE).We describe Project HOPE, the hundreds of scholarships it provided to students from around the country, and the broader effect it had on gifted student programs at Purdue University. We also discuss how Project HOPE affected Marcia’s scholarship and work related to equity issues in gifted education, as she became increasingly concerned and impatient with the inequities and slow pace of change in the field of gifted education. Finally, we reflect on the opportunities that Marcia provided her doctoral students and her role as our mentor, colleague, and friend. Marcia’s legacy of providing both opportunities and mentoring has left us to be indebted to her.KEYWORDS: enrichmentequityexcellenceprogramssummertalent development Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsNielsen PereiraNielsen Pereira, PhD, is an associate professor of Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies at Purdue University and Director of Purdue’s Gifted Education Research & Resource Institute (GER2I). His research interests include conceptual, contextual, and measurement issues in the identification of gifted and talented populations; design and assessment of learning in varied gifted and talented education contexts; and understanding gifted and talented student experiences in talent development programs in and out of school. Email: npereira@purdue.eduScott J. PetersScott J. Peters, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at NWEA. His research work focuses on educational assessment, research design, gifted and talented student identification, equity within advanced educational programs and services, and educational policy. He completed his PhD at Purdue University in 2009 under Marcia Gentry. Email: peterss@uww.edu