Competitive, statewide $1,000 scholarships from the Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics recently were awarded to University of Houston-Victoria education students Gabrielle Garza and Emmelynn Junek.
Junek and Garza each received $1,000 Preservice Teacher Scholarships from the council. Only six students from Texas were awarded the scholarships.
“It was not an easy thing to earn this scholarship,” said Barba Patton, UHV professor of curriculum and instruction. “These girls also worked while earning their degrees and deserve to be recognized for their accomplishment.”
Patton told Junek, a Rosenberg resident who takes classes at UHV Katy, about the scholarship.
“She is the reason I applied,” Junek said. “Now the scholarship will be really helpful in covering a portion of my fall tuition.”
All scholarship applicants must have had a GPA of 3.0 overall and a GPA of 3.25 in all courses that applied to their degrees. Along with the required GPA, the students had to submit two letters of recommendation: one from a mathematics or mathematics education professor from whom they have taken coursework, and the other from a classroom math teacher with whom they recently have worked. At least one of the letters of recommendation must have come from an active member of the Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The students also were required to write and submit a 1,500-word essay describing their philosophy of teaching mathematics and how they would implement this philosophy with their future students.
Garza, a Victoria resident, had several reasons motivating her to apply for the scholarship.
“Doing student teaching Monday through Friday as part of my required course doesn’t allow me to work as much as I want to pay for school,” UHV senior Garza said. “I prayed that I would get this scholarship, and it was answered.”
After graduating, Garza plans to apply to become a teacher in a lower-level grade. She hopes her accomplishments also will be a tribute to her grandmother, who recently passed.
“She knew that I would be the first grandchild to graduate from college,” Garza said. “I want to show her that I can do it, and this scholarship will help get me closer to that dream.”
The Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a 3,600-member professional group that encourages students to have an active interest in mathematics. The organization is the largest affiliate of the National Council of Mathematics Teachers, which is influential in the dissemination of information concerning the teaching of mathematics across the world. Scholarships are awarded to Texas college and university students who plan on doing student teaching during the 2018-2019 school year in order to pursue teacher certification with a specialization in mathematics.