On March 9, 2023, the University of Mary Washington’s College of Education hosted an on-campus Scholarship Night for students. Students could learn more about scholarships specific to the College of Education, which include around 30 scholarships exclusively for future teachers. The event shared options for any year of the program, and many first-year students and sophomores attended to find out what could be available to them as they advanced through their education programs.
“Many students don’t apply for the scholarships available at UMW because they don’t know about them,” Dr. Brittany Garvin-Hudson, assistant professor of science education, explained. “Scholarship Night is really about making students aware of all the opportunities they have access to within the College of Education.”
Among the scholarships highlighted at the event was the Strong Foundation Scholarship, which is a COE-specific financial aid program. The Strong Foundation’s goal is to reduce students’ financial pressure during their student-teaching semester, when a student’s ability to offset expenses with outside employment is curtailed by the rigor of full-time work in the classroom. Awards such as this, intended to help future teachers through their training, can grant COE students up to $15,000. No one knows how important education is more than the future teachers in the College of Education, and UMW is proud to connect our COE students with more opportunities to ease their experience in their own studies.
Three panelists—Shaun McBride, Haylie Stevenson, and Shahir Mohsenyan—shared their experiences with such awards. All panelists are current graduate students in UMW’s College of Education. The panelists gave students valuable advice on how to apply for the scholarships, informed students about the qualifications for COE-specific financial aid, and shared their personal experiences in the education program.
Faculty leading the event also noted how UMW has enhanced the efficiency of our scholarship application processes so that students have easier access to the dozens of scholarships they might be eligible for. Students can submit their details for one application, and through the University’s streamlined process, those details will be paired with other scholarships that the student qualifies for—that’s more opportunities in less time.
“The work is all about equity and access. Our events make sure that we provide access to opportunities to all of our students,” Garvin-Hudson said.
The College of Education hopes to continue expanding their reach with providing more students with more financial aid. For more information on how you can apply for scholarships specific to the College of Education, click here.