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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. Launched in summer 2021 thanks to a generous charitable grant from the Anonymous Trust, the program will welcome its first cohort of Transformational Scholars in fall 2022.

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 diversity, equity and inclusion
  • their commitment to the teaching profession

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.

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.

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.

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

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