{"id":210922,"date":"2024-03-15T07:30:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T11:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=210922"},"modified":"2024-03-13T11:16:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T15:16:58","slug":"neag-school-masters-student-recognized-as-alma-exley-scholar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2024\/03\/neag-school-masters-student-recognized-as-alma-exley-scholar\/","title":{"rendered":"Neag School Master\u2019s Student Recognized as Alma Exley Scholar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brianna Bobo ’23 (ED), a master\u2019s student studying curriculum and instruction at the UConn Neag School of Education, has been recognized as an Alma Exley Scholar<\/a> for 2024.<\/p>\n

Established in memory of Alma Exley, a dedicated educator at the Connecticut State Department of Education, the scholarship promotes greater diversity in the teaching profession. It honors and supports outstanding students preparing for careers as public school teachers by annually awarding one scholarship of at least $5,000 to a student of color in an accredited teacher preparation program in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

According to the Alma Exley Scholarship website, \u201conly about 11 percent of the educators in Connecticut\u2019s public schools are persons of color. However, students of color comprise over half of students statewide and more than 85 percent in major cities.\u201d As such, the scholarship aims to mirror the diversity of the student population that is currently not reflected in many schools across Connecticut through empowering future teachers of color, like Bobo.<\/p>\n

\u201cA selection committee of respected educators chose the recipients from among applicants from educator-preparation programs in Connecticut,\u201d writes Woody Exley, spouse of the late Alma Exley, on the scholarship website. \u201cThe selection committee was impressed with the potential of all the applicants. All were deserving and worthy of the scholarship. We need to keep growing the endowment to award more scholarships in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

A graduate of Conard High School in West Hartford, Connecticut, Bobo also received her undergraduate degree in secondary education with a concentration in social studies and history at UConn\u2019s Neag School.<\/p>\n

\n

I am eternally grateful to the Neag School of Education. Through its extensive course load and exposure to various educational experiences, it has challenged me to become a better and more well-rounded educator. — Brianna Bobo<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/span><\/p>\n

Bobo decided to go through the Neag School to pursue her education because of the \u201coutstanding program that Neag offered. But, honestly, because I knew that God wanted me to go. You know that feeling you get when you know your choice is the right one? That is the feeling I had when I decided to go to Neag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon graduating with her master\u2019s degree in May, Bobo plans to pursue her dream of becoming an educator or, in her words, to \u201cfulfill my purpose in life \u2014 to serve my community through education.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an educator, Bobo promises to: \u201cone, serve my students wholeheartedly; two, create a learning environment filled with acts of kindness, compassion, and patience; and, three, empower my students to contribute to creating an equitable society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobo credits her high school African American history teacher, Steve Bassi, for inspiring her to pursue a career in education and use history to build impactful relationships with her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Bassi is humble and joyful and fills the classroom with his energetic spirit, which, combined with his love for learning, created a sense of community in the classroom,\u201d Bobo says. \u201cBeing in his class made me feel safe and inspired me to challenge myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobo says the impact of receiving this scholarship and the mission behind it transcends its financial benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Black educator, it is disheartening to see that classrooms look almost identical to my mother\u2019s, who graduated from high school almost 40 years ago,\u201d Bobo says. \u201cThis scholarship is not only changing the lives of those who receive it but generations of students who will benefit from having a teacher like me. With this scholarship, I can honor the late Alma Exley and continue her legacy of supporting students and breaking down barriers that would limit them from attaining their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobo also credits this scholarship for allowing her to follow her dreams of becoming a teacher, without worrying about taking out a loan to cover tuition costs. Bobo also credits the Neag School for equipping her with the skills and knowledge necessary to flourish as the educator she has long dreamed of becoming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am eternally grateful to the Neag School of Education,\u201d Bobo says. \u201cThrough its extensive course load and exposure to various educational experiences, it has challenged me to become a better and more well-rounded educator.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The scholarship promotes greater diversity in the teaching profession and was established in memory of an educator at the Connecticut State Department of Education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":210924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2426,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1879],"class_list":["post-210922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-curriculum-instruction","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 18:42:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210922"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210936,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210922\/revisions\/210936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/210924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210922"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=210922"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=210922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}