With Support From Education Excellence Fund and Teaching Fellows, Anyah Moore is Able to Attend NC State College of Education and Pursue Teaching Goals

When Anyah Moore ’25 was in high school, she wasn’t sure how to approach applying to college until one of her teachers, Marisa Schmalfedt, came along to help. With additional assistance from her guidance counselor at South Mecklenburg High School, Shelby Allen, Moore soon discovered how to navigate the application process and look for the scholarship support she needed. 

With her application fees waived due to her being on free and reduced lunch, Moore decided to cast her net far and wide, eventually applying to 20 different colleges. But, as she narrowed down her options to in-state schools, NC State began to feel like the right fit.

Moore said she appreciated the constant communication she received from the NC State College of Education, including Director of Teaching Fellows Crystal Espey, during the application process.

“Those connections were very, very important to me,” Moore said. “That was definitely a big reason why I chose NC State because I felt like even if I didn’t get into State, I’d still be able to call them.”

Another major factor that led to Moore choosing the NC State College of Education was the extensive financial support she received, through both Teaching Fellows and the Dean’s Excellence Scholarship, which is supported by gifts to the College of Education’s Excellence Fund.

“It was a huge deal for me,” Moore said. “I knew I wanted to go to college, and it was just a matter of how I was going to pay for it. So being able to be here and be like, ‘Oh, I don’t have to worry about tuition and things like that’ has definitely been amazing.”

Now, Moore, majoring in elementary education with special education dual licensure, is taking advantage of the opportunities available to her within the College of Education to become a teacher who makes a difference in the lives of her students, like her teachers did for her.

A freshman, Moore is already looking forward to gaining classroom experience with the Teaching Fellows, and she has been able to act as a mentor to students through the NC State College of Education’s Students Advocating for Youth (SAY) Village.

“It definitely gives me a good feel about how things will be in the classroom,” Moore said. “I mentor two little girls, and they’re always talking about how much they love SAY. I always hear stuff from their teachers like, ‘Oh, they’re speaking up in class,’ and little things like that, and that makes me feel great.”

Moore wants to teach kindergarten, and she said her personal experiences with mental illness have inspired her to ensure her classroom is a space where students’ mental health is supported. 

“Emotions are big and scary, especially for someone who is five or six years old and doesn’t really understand why they’re feeling like this,” Moore said. “Just being an advocate for mental health is definitely a reason why I chose education.” 

She also wants to be a champion for students who may not have had many teachers of color. 

“I didn’t have a lot of minority teachers, and so that definitely was a big thing for me,” Moore said. “I was always able to connect with teachers because I love to connect with people, but it was definitely a little weirder for me, because I didn’t see a lot of teachers who looked like me. And so that definitely inspired me to do education as well.”

Thanks to the scholarship support she has received, Moore is on her way toward being the educator she knows she can be. 

“The donors, they’ll never understand how extremely helpful they have been,” Moore said. “Even by donating $10, it makes a big difference, especially for me.”