MORGANTOWN, W.Va –Two dozen aspiring teachers in West Virginia begin college this month as the sixth cohort of Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars start classes across the state.
Wheeling Park High School graduate Ciera Faulstick is part of that group, entering West Virginia University in the elementary education program. She is looking forward to the opportunity to impact students some day in the future.
“I just want to bring such a positive impact to every student that I teach. I may be having the worst day ever, but knowing that I made a student smile or laugh or taught them something new or helped them on something, I think at the end of the day, I would consider that a great day,” she said.
As an Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholar, Faulstick receives up to $10,000 in scholarship annually over four years to support her pursuit of a teaching degree, and after graduation, she’ll be required to teach in West Virginia for five years.
She believes that the opportunities that come with the scholarship make the program more valuable than just the money.
“You get someone to really mentor you that is a teacher in West Virginia that’s close to your college or university, so to be able to have someone and such a good support group and support system is a great addition to this scholarship on top of that,” she said.
Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars are required to teach math, science, special education, or elementary education, as the program aims to resolve shortages in those subjects. All four are represented in this year’s cohort, which includes incoming students at WVU, Marshall, Shepherd, Concord, Fairmont State, and Glenville State.
Faulstick already had the opportunity to meet some of her fellow future teachers at a recent celebration for this year’s scholars.
“We learned everything about the scholarship that we didn’t already know. We met all of the other Underwood-Smith Scholars. I met the other ones from WVU, and we’re already really, really good friends, and we’re already making plans to hang out when we’re down at WVU,” she said.
The opportunity to teach may still be a few years away, but Faulstick remains committed to her passion for making her future students want to come to school every day.
“I do really, really want my students to love it there. I want them to feel loved and included and welcomed in my classroom every single day. I want to be there for them, and that’s, I think, why I really want to be a teacher,” she said.
The preliminary Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholarship application for current high school seniors is now open at cfwv.com.