UWF supports educator alumni through new graduate studies scholarships

To celebrate the creation of the University of West Florida’s School of Education, the College of Education and Professional Studies has created a scholarship opportunity for educator alumni. The School of Education Alumni Scholarship will provide graduates from a variety of UWF education programs the funds to enroll in education graduate programs at the master’s and doctoral levels in 2023.

“In July we launched the School of Education, which allows us to leverage partnerships and realize synergies with education communities in the region,” said Dr. William Crawley, dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies. “This scholarship is an extension of that. We want to both celebrate and support our educators and administrators while also ensuring that our classrooms are infused with the most up-to-date, evidence based pedagogical approaches.”

Mercedes Musto is currently a student in the Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction program and knows the value of earning advanced degrees as an educator. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from UWF in 2001. After teaching and developing students for some time, she said it was time to further develop herself, and she decided to pursue graduate studies. She earned a master’s in curriculum and instruction as well as a specialist degree in curriculum in 2019. She says the importance of earning an advanced degree as an educator is twofold.

“The pursuit of knowledge leads to wisdom and this is the fundamental premise of leading a scholarly life,” said Musto. “At the heart of every educator is a love for learning; that’s why we teach. We want to inspire our wonder for wisdom in others. While the advanced degree launches our career and strengthens our professional practice, participation in higher education reminds us that to teach well we must remain teachable, and to learn much we must learn often.”

Scholarship recipients will receive a $2,000 scholarship to be applied toward graduate tuition in two increments. After the recipient is enrolled in one of the specified programs, $1,000 will be made available. After successful completion of 15 semester hours in the selected program, another $1,000 will be made available. Scholarship eligibility and an application is available online.For more information about UWF’s School of Education, visit uwf.edu/soe.