Meet Our Incoming Students

Sep 11, 2024

College of Education Begins 2024-2025 with Another Rise in Undergraduate Enrollment; Teaching Fellows Welcome Largest Incoming Cohort in NC

The NC State College of Education opened the 2024-2025 academic year with 674 undergraduate students—its largest number of undergraduates in at least 10 years. Of those, 178 are new undergraduate students—a nearly 5 percent increase from last year and a 21 percent increase from five years ago.

Aug 13, 2024

Lyla Sherwood: ‘My Strong Connection and Love for Children and Learning Led Me to Choose Education’

Lyla Sherwood loved the teachers she had growing up in New Hanover County and, as an incoming Transformational Scholar and Teaching Fellow, is excited to one day return to the region as an educator.

Aug 13, 2024

Goodnight Scholar McKenna Sink: ‘I Hope to Convey My Passion for Math to Students and Help Them Realize that Math Can Be Applicable to Everyday Life’

McKenna Sink, who will join the NC State College of Education this fall as part of the Goodnight Scholars Program's incoming Class of 2028, is excited to share her passion for mathematics with middle school students. Over the next four years, her goal is to grow into a strong STEM educator while also taking part in everything NC State has to offer — including the Krispy Kreme challenge.

Aug 13, 2024

Transformational Scholar and Teaching Fellow Braxton Cumbo: ‘What Inspires Me to Become a Teacher Is Seeing Personal Growth and Development’

Braxton Cumbo loves STEM and has a passion for teaching, which made the college's technology, engineering, and design education program the perfect fit for him. 

Aug 13, 2024

Transformational Scholar and Teaching Fellow Andrea Loera Valdez: ‘I Have a Supportive System of People Who Want to See Me Achieve My Dream of Becoming an Educator’

Andrea Loera Valdez, an incoming Teaching Fellow and Transformational Scholar, is excited to become part of a community that will prepare her to teach in eastern North Carolina, where she especially wants to support students who do not speak English as their first language.

Aug 13, 2024

Teaching Fellow John Constantino: ‘I Want To Make a Difference in My Students’ Lives and Be Someone They Can See as a Mentor and Role Model’ 

John Constantino's fifth-grade teacher inspired in him a love for learning. That, paired with a fascination with science, led him to NC State's College of Education, where he is an incoming Teaching Fellow.

Aug 13, 2024

Teaching Fellow Gabriel Steven Castillo Calderon: ‘’I Want To Be Able To Help Others Learn, and I Want Them To Be Able To Look Forward To It.’

When Gabriel Steven Castillo Calderon was in kindergarten, a patient bilingual teacher helped him learn English and, throughout high school, he had many other teachers who made their classes exciting while maintaining a focus on learning. As an incoming Teaching Fellow, he hopes to one day be able to do the same.

Aug 13, 2024

Tacey Miller ’15: ‘I Believe That Elementary Mathematics Is the Foundation for Success in Any Profession’

For almost a decade, Tacey Miller '15 has worked as a teacher at Dixon Elementary in Onslow County. She recently earned her mathematics add-on licensure through the NC State College of Education, which inspired to return to the college and also pursue her doctoral degree.

Aug 13, 2024

Maryam Mohaghegh: ‘The Process of Learning and Growth Fascinates Me’

Maryam Mohaghegh has worked as an English as a second language (ESL) teacher in Iran, a scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) National Polio Laboratory and a Persian lecturer at NC State. As a doctoral student in the NC State College of Education, she wants to explore how an individual's first language can impact growth opportunities for ESL professionals in the United States.

Aug 13, 2024

Lydia Provost ’19: ‘I Am Interested in Diving Further Into the Language That We Use When Teaching Mathematical Thinking’

After four years in the classroom, Lydia Provost '19 is returning to the College of Education to earn her doctoral degree and, one day, influence the next generation of teachers.