During the 2004 school year, South Aiken High School senior Aaron Edwards learned about a still-new Teaching Fellows scholarship; he applied and was accepted - receiving a four-year, $24,000 grant and becoming an education major at the College of Charleston.
After working in Lowcounty schools for several years, Edwards is now teaching history at South Aiken.
"Teaching Fellows really set me on that direction," he said. "The College of Charleston is a good school ... and I loved what I was doing."
Earlier this spring, Aiken High School senior Lauren Grimm and her mother, Karen Bowles, were practically screaming with joy when they learned Grimm had been offered the Teaching Fellows scholarship. She plans to major in special education at USC Aiken.
The scholarship program, funded by the S.C. General Assembly, provides it over four years for up to 200 high school seniors every year. Many South Carolina public colleges accept Teaching Fellows winners, coordinated through the Center for Advancement, Retention and Advancement, also known as CERRA. For the first time, USCA can now enroll Teaching Fellows recipients for the 2015-16 school year.
"I was bawling, so excited I couldn't talk," Grimm said with a laugh. "USCA was my first choice ... and this really helped me make that decision to go there."
CERRA had initiated requests for proposal for two additional host colleges for Teaching Fellows in early 2014. USCA was selected that March.
"This action is a great day for the School of Education," USCA Professor Dr. Tim Lintner said at that time. "Teaching Fellows will provide a collaboration with other departments and the community - encouraging the students to become teacher-leaders in the classroom."
Eleven high school students have been accepted to attend USCA on the scholarship in the fall. In addition to Grimm, the others from Aiken County and the area are: Lindsey Calhoun, Eleanor Powell, Morgan Pruitt, Christa Turner and Rebekah Shaw. All of them went through a rigorous process, including a formal application and an interview.
Like Edwards, North Augusta High School teacher Lindsay Tucker received a Teaching Fellows grant in 2004 and went on to Winthrop University. The scholarship paid for tuition and also professional development opportunities, such as conferences and other summer experiences. During the term, Tucker also visited local schools in her freshman year - two years other education majors get that opportunity. She is delighted that USCA can now offer the program.
One of the most important part, she said, "is the experience and connections I made with other Teaching Fellows at Winthrop ... My experience allowed for me to confidently enter my first year of teacher and step out as a leader at my school from the beginning."
Senior writer Rob Novit is the education reporter.