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At a March 11 press conference hosted by state Senator Doug McCrory, several aspiring educators urged the Legislature to continue funding the Aspiring Educators Diversity Scholarship.
The program is administered by the state Department of Education and presents annual scholarships to diverse students who graduated from a public high school in a priority school district and are enrolled in a teacher preparation program at any four-year institution of higher education. Students must be in good academic standing to be considered for a scholarship.
“Being a person of color but also coming from a low-income background makes it difficult when it comes to finding money to support my daily needs,” said Sherrod Cuttino, a Central Connecticut State University student and recipient of the Aspiring Educators Diversity Scholarship.
Cuttino is a History Education major who plans to teach at the elementary school level.
Nylamar Samuels, another Central student and recipient of the scholarship, said, “I feel like this scholarship could really benefit and motivate a lot of students, like from my own hometown of New Britain, who could benefit from the scholarship and who otherwise would never have the money or the hope of going to college just because of the financial aspect of it.”
Samuels also plans to teach History at the elementary school level.
Eligible students who are enrolled in an approved educator preparation program can apply before Friday, March 15, to receive up to $10,000 in scholarships annually.
Read more at CTMirror.org.
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Students and educators stand by to speak about the Aspiring Educators Scholarship Program as state Senator Doug McCrory addresses the media. (Photo courtesy Dr. Paula Talty)