April 14, 2015

Lewis & Clark senior wins Wilson-Rockefeller Fund Fellowship

Charlie Quezada CAS ’15 is one of only nine students in the nation selected to receive a Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color.

Charlie Quezada CAS ’15 is one of only nine students in the nation selected to receive a Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color. The Fellowship was created in 1992 to recruit, support, and retain public school teachers in the United States.

Quezada, who hails from the Southern California community of Pomona, graduated in December with a double major in sociology/anthropology and Hispanic studies. The Wilson Fellowship, which provides $30,000 toward completing a master’s degree in education, will help prepare Quezada to teach in a high-need public school and provide support during her three-year teaching commitment in the form of mentoring, tutoring, and coaching.

“I was very thrilled to be selected for the 2015 Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color,” said Quezada. “The other candidates I met during the interview process were all so well-qualified for the fellowship that I honestly did not expect to be chosen. I am honored to have this opportunity as a fellow and I couldn’t have done it without the support of the L&C community.”

Within a decade, the percentage of students of color in the K-12 system is projected to grow to 50 percent, while the percentage of teachers of color will fall to an all-time low of 5 percent. The Wilson Fellowship aims to counteract this decline. Selected through a competitive national process, fellows must be nominated by one of the program’s 48 nominating institutions and 29 graduate education programs. Quezada’s cohort includes graduates from such institutions as the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, and Wellesley College.

Quezada is the third Lewis & Clark senior to win the Fellowship. She joins Aukeem Ballard BA ’11 and Madelyn Troiano BA ’12. Lewis & Clark’s teacher education program was selected as a Fellowship partner in 2010.

Graduate School of Education and Counseling Inclusion & Multicultural Engagement

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