Alumni couple creates scholarship for future teachers
Their scholarship is awarded to four freshmen each year and can be renewed annually as long as the recipient meets the criteria. The Harrises wanted to attract and reward the “best and the brightest” young Kansans who wish to pursue a career in teaching and have a desire to attend K-State, like Emilie Taylor, a sophomore in elementary education. Taylor says receiving the scholarship means the world to her.
“K-State is my dream school, and I was not sure if I was going to be able to attend because of the cost,” she said. “When I received the scholarship, it was the deciding factor of which college I would attend.”
Besides getting good grades, Tomorrow’s Teacher scholarship recipients must also participate in community service. “I think it is a great requirement,” Taylor said. “We receive this generous scholarship for our education, and it is the least we can do to help out in the community more. I feel more connected to the community when I do service.”
Taylor, like all current and future teachers, will pass on her class and life lessons to those she teaches. “There is something special I find in teaching children and watching them grow,” she said. “Teachers have been an important part of my life and I can’t wait to pass what I’ve learned on to the children in my future classroom.”
That is exactly why Lee and Barbara Harris support teachers. “Teachers touch so many lives, and they do it over so many years,” Lee said. “You absolutely know when you’re educating teachers that there’s going to be a major-league difference made for decades to come, and we like that.”
