Transformational Scholars

The Transformational Scholarships Program will provide scholarships of a minimum of $40,000 over four years to promising high school students from Eastern North Carolina who will return to the region to teach after graduating from NC State’s College of Education. This program launched in summer 2021 thanks to a generous charitable grant from the Anonymous Trust.

Transformational Scholars are future teachers who will . . .

Receive a minimum of $10,000 per year in scholarship support for up to four years. Additional financial support is available for those with greater need to make sure that all their financial need, as determined by the FAFSA, is met. In addition, funds that support professional development such as study abroad and conference participation will be available.
Participate in field experiences, summer work, student teaching and other activities that equip them to return to Eastern North Carolina to work as teachers after completing their undergraduate degree
Receive direct mentoring from College of Education faculty and education leaders living and working in Eastern North Carolina, including graduates of NC State’s Leadership Academies (NELA)
Develop lifelong relationships through a cohort model where Transformational Scholars will support and be supported by the same group of peers over their time in the program

Eligibility requirements

Transformational Scholars will be selected based on the following criteria:

their admittance to NC State as first-year students
their demonstrated financial need
a resident of an Eastern North Carolina county
their commitment to returning to Eastern North Carolina to teach
their commitment to equitable and inclusive education
their commitment to the teaching profession

Aerial of Memorial Belltower and surrounding buildings on campus.

Apply to be a Transformational Scholar

View the application process for high school seniors eligible to be part of our third cohort of Transformational Scholars that will enroll in our college in fall 2025.

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Student teacher at Centennial Campus Middle School

Nominate a Transformational Scholar

Let us know of a high school student you recommend to be a Transformational Scholar. We’ll follow up with the student to let them know about this scholarship.

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FAQ About Transformational Scholars

Have any eligibility, financial aid package or programming questions related to Transformational Scholars?

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Why We Love Eastern North Carolina

College of Education students from Eastern North Carolina share what they love about their hometowns why they plan to return to the region to teach after graduation.

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The Four-Year Transformational Scholars Experience

Transformational Scholars will engage in experiences that prepare them to serve as extraordinary teachers and leaders in Eastern North Carolina as part of a cohort—meaning they will support and be supported by the same group of peers over their four years in the program. Transformational Scholars will focus on a key theme during each year of their participation in the program.

First year: Becoming an educator

Transformational Scholars will participate in experiences aimed at helping them define the role of an educator and establish their own educational identity.

Third year: Decision and change in education

Transformational Scholars will participate in programs to better understand how education policy is shaped by financial, social and cultural forces.

Second year: Communities and context

Transformational Scholars will participate in experiences aimed at helping them better understand the social, economic, demographic and historical contexts of communities across North Carolina and beyond, including global immersive experiences and community service.

Fourth year: Becoming a leader

Transformational Scholars will utilize the skills they learned in the previous years to create their own identity as a teacher-leader who can build and sustain change in the communities they will serve.

About Transformational Scholars

The Transformational Scholarships Program recruits, educates, mentors and prepares students from Eastern North Carolina to return to their home counties to teach. The program will start with a cohort of students in the 2022-2023 academic year and welcome an additional cohort in each of the following four years. Each Transformational Scholar will receive $10,000 per year in scholarship support over four years, as well as study-abroad stipends and support for mentoring opportunities, experiential learning experiences and leadership development.

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About NC State’s College of Education

As a Transformational Scholar, you will be part of a close-knit community where you will build on your passion for education to become an extraordinary educator. You’ll be equipped to make an immediate impact in your classroom, school or community.

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producer of STEM educators in North Carolina

Why Gifts Matter: Transformational Scholarship Program Creates Opportunity for Camilla Torres to Teach in Duplin County

When Camilla Torres was named a Transformational Scholar, it not only provided her with the financial support she needed to attend NC State, but also instilled in her a sense of accomplishment that has stuck with her ever since.

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.

Josh Webb: ‘The Experiences the College of Education Offers, Both Domestically and Globally, Are Shaping Me Into the Educator I’ve Always Wanted To Be’

During his time in the NC State College of Education, middle grades English language arts education major and Transformational Scholar Josh Webb has been able to take part in a number of experiences that have helped him grow as an educator, such as visiting K-12 classrooms in eastern North Carolina and learning about different cultures in Costa Rica.

About the Anonymous Trust

The Transformational Scholarships Program is supported by a generous charitable grant from the Anonymous Trust. “We are thrilled to partner with NC State’s College of Education in support of its Transformational Scholars program to create enthusiasm for the teaching profession in rural communities with students whose goal is to return to their communities to educate the next generation of students,” said Debbie Aiken, executive director of the Anonymous Trust.

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Contact us

Trisha Mackey ’18MED
Director, Transformational Scholarships Program
NC State College of Education
transformationalscholars@ncsu.edu

Transformational Scholars