Two Yale University undergraduate students recently were selected to receive scholarships made possible by the Connecticut State Department of Higher Education’s Minority Teacher Incentive Grant program.
Priscilla Noriega, a Pierson College senior from Brownsville, Texas, is an English major working towards certification in secondary school English. She will receive $5,000 for up to two years, some of which may be applied to her graduate school expenses. Noriega’s activities include tutoring in New Haven Public School’s Vincent Mauro Elementary school, working with the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztl‡n (MEChA), a Hispanic and Latino student group that fosters respect and equality with the firm belief that the interests of the Chicano community can be fulfilled, and also as a student recruitment coordinator.
Rodnev Lapommeroy, a Dwight College junior from Brooklyn, New York, is a psychology major working towards his certification to teach secondary school history. After teaching a few years, he plans to continue his graduate studies in educational psychology. Lapommeroy will receive $5,000 per year for each of his junior and senior years. He began tutoring young children while in high school and continues tutoring through Yale programs such as the U.S. Grant Program. His other activities include Jumpstart, Americorps and the Yale Freshman Chorus.
The state scholarship is for juniors and seniors of Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, Native American and African American heritage who are enrolled in Connecticut college and university teacher preparation programs, said Otherine Neisler, associate director of Yale’s program. The grants are up to $5,000 a year for two years, and recipients are also eligible for a loan reimbursement of $2,500 a year for up to four years, if they teach in a Connecticut public school.
These grants are part of the State of Connecticut’s commitment to diversifying its teaching force.
