Texas State student receives $30K fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color

January 17, 2012--Gabriella Corales, an English and Communication Studies major at Texas State University-San Marcos, is among 25 students nationwide to receive a 2012 fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund for Aspiring Teachers of Color. (See full list of Fellows, below).

Each Fellow will receive a $30,000 stipend to complete a master’s degree in education. The fellowship also includes mentoring support throughout a three-year commitment to teach in a high-need public school. Ms. Corales, who will graduate from Texas State in May 2012, hopes to attend graduate school at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, or Stanford University. After obtaining her degree, she plans to teach English in middle school.

Ms. Corales, a graduate of Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, is the daughter of Michael A. Corales and Laura Elizondo, and the granddaughter of Delia Corales, all of San Antonio.

At Texas State, Ms. Corales has been president of the campus’ First Generation Student Organization and a Big Sister through the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program. She has also been a motivational speaker at area schools, with a special focus on speaking to students about overcoming obstacles and persevering. She says she understands the educational challenges students face in high-need schools.

“I am very passionate about teaching,” she said. “My career plans have always been to be an educator and to impact and inspire others, especially individuals who come from backgrounds similar to my own. I am entering a new chapter in my life, and I am eagerly anticipating what lies ahead.”

The 25 WW-RBF Fellows were chosen through a competitive selection process. Each Fellow was nominated by one of the program’s 48 nominating institutions.

Established in 1992 by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color were created to help recruit, support, and retain individuals of color as public education teachers and administrators. Since the program’s inception, it has awarded nearly $8 million in grants and financial assistance to 400 Fellows. In January 2009, RBF transferred the program to the Woodrow Wilson Foundation following a national review of potential host organizations.

“The Foundation is pleased to add this impressive group of young and promising teachers to its national network of outstanding teachers and scholars,” said Bill Dandridge, program officer and director of the WW-RBF Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color. “Their desire to serve children in the nation’s most challenging schools and communities is an important reason to be hopeful about the future of our public schools.”

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation identifies and develops the best minds for the nation’s most important challenges. In these areas of challenge, the Foundation awards fellowships to enrich human resources, works to improve public policy, and assists organizations and institutions in enhancing practice in the U.S. and abroad.

Founded in 1940, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund encourages social change that contributes to a more just sustainable, and peaceful world. The RBF’s grantmaking is organized around three themes: Democratic Practice, Sustainable Development, and Peace and Security, and three pivotal places: New York City, Western Balkans, and Southern China.

More information about the WW-RBF Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color is available by contacting Andrea Beale, Communications Assistant at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, (609) 452-7007 x187, Beale@woodrow.org.
 

THE WOODROW WILSON-ROCKEFELLER BROTHERS FUND
FELLOWSHIPS FOR ASPIRING TEACHERS OF COLOR, 2012
Nanor Balabanian • University of California, Santa Barbara
Oliver Benders • Montclair State University
Christell Boyd-Abner • University of Pittsburgh
Shanée Brown • Dartmouth College
Nicole Caldwell • The City College of New York
Donna Chung • Brown University
Gabriella Corales • Texas State University-San Marcos
Jessica Correa • Pomona College
Dustin Dacuan • University of Washington
Hillary Higgs • Williams College
Ogechi Irondi • Swarthmore College
Jeannette Jackson • The City College of New York
Deborah Loperena • California State University, Northridge
Cynthia Ma • University of California – Los Angeles
Allyson Miller • University of California – Santa Barbara
Olufemi Ogunnaike • Swarthmore College
Jamilah Pitts • Spelman College
Pamela Otunnu Porensky • University of Southern Maine
Lisa Sullivan • University of Arizona
Lindsey Todd • University of Pennsylvania
Madelyn Troiano • Lewis & Clark College
Kamilah Welch • Wellesley College
Randyl Wilkerson • Wesleyan University
Nastassia Williams • Wesleyan University
Taylor Williams • Morehouse College

To learn more about the individual Fellows, please see
http://www.woodrow.org/teaching-fellowships/wwrbf/meet_fellows.php.