Eastern Mennonite University has awarded renewable scholarships to seven first-year students majoring in education.
Education at EMU takes students into K-12 classrooms just weeks into their first semester, and forms reflective and engaging teachers that are highly sought after: In the year after finishing their studies, all of the 2017 program graduates who sought employment in PreK-12 education settings were employed.
Departmental scholarships at EMU are awarded to incoming students in specific academic and extracurricular programs, including education. Select students who declare majors in education will receive scholarships of up to $3,000 that can be renewed for four years and are in addition to their basic financial aid packages.
- Emma Cordell (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania), an elementary education major, chose to attend the program because of its good reputation and size, she said, in order to learn “alongside others interested in the same things and field as I am.”
- Christine Gray (Culpeper, Virginia) is a history education major preparing to teach in a middle school and “make an impact on my students,” she said. She was drawn to EMU for its size and, as she is “a pacifist, and passionate about sustainability,” its faith emphasis.
- Skylar Hedgepeth (Smithfield, Virginia) plans to use her elementary education and English as a Second Language qualifications to teach English internationally. She came to EMU to learn from “professors who demonstrate compassionate and diverse teaching strategies” in a “close-knit community and Christian environment.”
- Tristin Hogge (Smithfield, Virginia) came to EMU for its education and cross-cultural programs, and plans to become a middle school math teacher. In high school she took a class titled “Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow,” and is now eager to get into school classrooms early in this first year of university studies.
- Isaac Longacre (Quakertown, Pennsylvania) most enjoyed choir in high school – his vocal music teacher was Rodney Derstine ‘74 – and came to EMU to become a high school music teacher. The professors he met here as a prospective student were not only passionate about their subject matter, but also “interested in knowing their students,” he said.
- Rachel Lute (New Market, Virginia) said that many of her high school teachers studied at EMU, including her concert choir teacher Heidi Bauman King ‘12. “I look forward to learning all the ‘ins and outs’ of teaching,” Lute said, and more about restorative justice in the classroom. She is majoring in early childhood education.
- Hannah Neebe (Woodbridge, Virginia) is an elementary education major with a music minor. She chose EMU for its “small community feeling” where she can become “a wonderful, prepared teacher.”