Submitted: Portage County Retired Teachers Association presents scholarship and teacher grant winners

Scholarship and Teacher Grant winners presented at the Portage County Retired Teachers Association (PCRTA) luncheon on May 11. The members of PCRTA fund these projects by proctoring exams at NEOMED and through donations. PCRTA reaches out to each Portage County school district each fall with PCRTA Teacher Grant Applications and each spring with PCRTA Scholarship Applications.

The 2023 Scholarship winners were Sophia Marcini, Kailin Long, Alexis Bailey, and Hanna Chrin. Each scholarship winner spoke at the luncheon.

Sophia Marcini graduated from Streetsboro High School. She will be attending Kent State University, majoring in mathematics. She plans on teaching math at the high school level. She said, “I will be the best that I can be. I want to be able to teach others to have the same drive and watch them succeed.”

Kaitlin Long graduated from Southeast Local School District. She will be majoring in Early Childhood Education at Kent State University. Coach Benjamin Kobus said, “She has proven to me that she will conquer challenges and will lead by example.”

Alexis Bailey graduated from Southeast Local School District. She will be attending Kent State University, majoring in Early Childhood Education. She “…want(s) to be a teacher that inspires students and pushes them to do better.”

Hannah Chrin plans on attending Kent State University, majoring in Early Childhood Education. She graduated from the Ravenna City School District. Pastor Athena Edwards describes Hannah as, “…a very hard worker who sets goals and does what is necessary to see those goals through to the finish line.”

All of the PCRTA Scholarship winners will pursue a career in education. All of them have been involved in sports, community service projects, and leadership activities.

Five of the six Teacher Grant winners attended the May luncheon and shared the project that they implemented in the classroom. As you can see by the smiles on the faces of the teachers, each of these projects was successful. All of these projects will be part of the curriculum for many years to come. PCRTA’s investment in the future is grounded in these grants. This is just one of the ways PCRTA can have a positive impact on the education of today’s and tomorrow’s youth. We thank the school districts for permitting these teachers to share their experiences at our luncheon.

Jennifer Bindus — Phonics Cart — Aurora Leighton Elementary
Taylor Gosseck — Digital Camera in the Arts — Field Middle School

Laurie Scholfield — Carter and Karen Sunderhaft — Study of Water — Aurora Harmon Middle School
Jen Yonally — Storytelling Center for Kindergarten — Aurora Miller Elementary

+ posts