The fellowship awards students as much as $18,000 over a period of time beginning in their junior year and ending once they have begun public school teaching. Fellows receive stipends of up to $2,500 during the summer following their junior year to begin projects related to teaching. Following the completion of their undergraduate studies, they receive an annual stipend of between $6,000 and $9,000 for full-time graduate work in education or a related field. The award provides an additional $1,200 toward the repayment of student loans for each of the first three years that the fellow continues teaching.
Vanessa Siddle-Walker, assistant professor of educational studies, will serve as Brantley's mentor during her senior year. "When I think of the type of person that we want in the classroom, as we face the demanding needs of a changing population, I think of Michelle Brantley," said Walker. "She has all of the so-called standardized criteria for being a teacher, that is, she is very bright and she has the grades to prove it. But more than that, she has the caring and compassion that will make the difference between a competent teacher and an excellent one. I'm the one who is proud to be able to mentor her."
As mentor, Walker will assist Brantley in developing her summer project and in preparing for graduate school. Brantley is planning on applying to Co-lumbia Teachers' College, Har-vard, the University of Pennsylvania and Emory. Al-though Brantley still is unsure what her summer project will entail, she hopes it will involve "some practical hands-on activities in the community with kids."
"I think teaching is something that has always been with me," said Brantley. "People try to steer you toward more glamorous professions, but I've always been a teacher in some way, from tutoring peers to being an R.A." In addition, Brantley said that helping out in her mother's preschool also piqued her interest in teaching as she saw the impact she could make on the lives of children.
Brantley began her undergraduate degree at Oxford College, where she earned her associate's degree last May. While there, she worked as an assistant director on two theater productions that focused on African American contributions to the performing arts. As a sophomore, she served as course assistant for an off-campus course, "Social Problems in Contemporary Society." The course brings Oxford students into the inner city of Atlanta and allows them a first-hand look at many of the problems facing the urban poor.
Upon entering Emory, Brantley volunteered twice a week as a mentor at Cook Elementary, an Atlanta public school. This spring she has been working as a grade captain for fourth graders in the Discovery Program at Benteen Elementary, a Saturday school program through the Hands On Atlanta volunteer organization. As grade captain, she develops a weekly lesson plan, and monitors and reports on student progress to the school administration.
Brantley is listed in Who's Who Among American College Students and last year was named the Georgia Residence Hall Organization's Student of the Year.
-- Mike MacArthur
and Nancy Spitler