St. Edward’s Awards First
Noyce Scholarships

Talented Students Learn to Teach

St. Edward’s University has selected its first three recipients for the The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship. Kim Abbott ’10, Math, Erica Valdez ’12, Biology, and Kaila Pavelka ’12, Biochemistry, will each receive up to $31,000 of scholarship money and mentoring from teaching professionals.

The scholarship program, funded by a National Science Foundation grant of $885,000, represents a partnership among St. Edward’s, Austin Community College and the Austin Independent School District. Its focus: to develop talented science, technology, engineering and mathematics students as teachers for the 6th–12th grade classrooms.

Noyce Scholars Share Experiences

To help attract potential scholars, the university implements a week-long summer Environmental Science Camp, where math and science students at St. Edward’s and local high school students leave the classroom for hands-on learning in the field.

Pavelka, along with other Noyce Scholars, got first-hand experience teaching high schoolers about water quality issues at Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve and coastal eco-systems at Port Aransas.

“It was really a great experience for me to see that I could lead a group of kids and educate them, and even more so, see them excited about learning science,” says Pavelka.

Program Benefits Everyone's Learning

As a woman and minority, Valdez feels a responsibility to mentor others like her. “I have really become inspired about my future in teaching. It’s important for me to help other young women get excited about math and science,” she says.

Steven Fletcher, assistant professor of Secondary Education and project director, says the university’s collaboration with ACC and AISD is a win-win for Noyce Scholars. “This program allows them to both teach 6th –12th grade students and learn from the experiences of top-level teachers.”

Send Your Student to Camp

Is your math or science student interested in applying for the next summer camp? Applications are due May 15, 2010. Encourage your student to join in the learning and fun.

 

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