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W. Geiger Ellis
Student Teaching Scholarship
2008 Winner: Ms. Amanda Mathis, Armstrong
Atlantic State University, Savannah, Georgia
GCTE is happy to announce the opening of competition
for the W. Geiger Ellis Student Teaching Scholarship in honor of
Dr. “Guy” Ellis, professor emeritus at The University
of Georgia. During his twenty-four years of service in the Department
of Language Education, Guy was instrumental in involving hundreds
of new teachers in GCTE. Of the current GCTE Executive Board, three
members cite Guy’s influence as the primary reason they became
active GCTE members. Non-UGA grads will remember Guy most for the
eight years he coordinated the annual GCTE conference when it was
held in Athens.
Competition for this
award is always intense. This year was
no exception.
The
winner of the Ellis Award for 2008 is Ms. Amanda Mathis, a student at Armstrong
Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia. She received strong letters of recommendation, including one
from Armstrong Atlantic professor and GCTE member Nancy Remler.
Ms.
Mathis attended the luncheon to receive her award. As was noted during the announcement of Ms. Mathis as this
year’s recipient, Ms. Mathis wrote a noteworthy letter of application, stating
in it that “As a teacher, I want to give my students [the] . . . opportunity to
see education as attainable and valuable.” She further reveals, “My grandmother was allowed only to
finish the seventh grade because of her gender. She was never allowed to go to high school, much less to
college. My mother also never went
to college because of financial reasons but instilled in me that nothing should
stop me from higher education.” Ms. Mathis enjoys working with a diversity of students, especially
inclusion students and those for whom English is a second language. She concludes by saying, “Even though
teaching all students can be challenging, I am ready to experience life as a
teacher. I am about to embark on
what I have been preparing to do since I decided to become a teacher in tenth grade.” With this type of enthusiasm and with
her excellent scholastic preparation, we feel confident that Ms. Mathis will be
a highly successful English teacher.
The $1000.00 scholarship will be awarded
to a student who will be student teaching in English/Language Arts,
grades K – 12, through a Georgia college or university during
the 2009-10 school year. The following are the requirements for
the scholarship:
- Applicants must be pursuing a
degree program that includes professional certification from a
Georgia approved program in teaching English/Language Arts at
the middle or secondary level or cognate area at the elementary
level and be scheduled to student-teach during fall 2008 or spring
2009.
- Applicants must have a minimum 3.2 GPA (on a 4 point scale)
and must submit an official transcript of all college work with
their materials.
- Applicants should write a cover letter explaining why they should
be considered for the scholarship.
Three letters of recommendation complete the application process:
one from an English department faculty member, one from an education
faculty member (a methods instructor, if available), and one from
outside the college or university, e.g., a former employer, a former
public school teacher of English.
The scholarship recipient will be invited
to attend the GCTE Conference during the scholarship's designated
year; conference fees will be waived for the recipient(s). Lodging
and travel will be supported by GCTE up to the amount of $250.
More than one scholarship may be awarded with the approval of the
Board.
The deadline for receiving all materials is October 26, 2009. Submit
all materials, preferably by e-mail, to:
Dr. Dawn Latta Kirby
English Department
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road, #2701
Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591
dkirby8@kennesaw.edu
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