Four Central Connecticut State University education majors were awarded $5,000 each through the Aspiring Educators Diversity Scholarship program.

The scholarship program designed by the Connecticut Legislature to reward diverse education majors who graduated from a Connecticut priority high school honored Samantha Escobales, Sherrod Cuttino, Anasofia Rodriguez Vazquez and Nylamar Samuels.

“Receiving this scholarship shows that I am capable of being a great educator,” Samantha Escobales, a class of 2027 education major, said. ” I can go very far in this field if I put in the work and show that I am deserving of the opportunities that can come my way.”

All four students are alumni of New Britain High School, one of 16 schools on the Connecticut Priority School Districts list. They enrolled at CCSU through Educators Rising, a program that feeds higher education teacher preparation programs to increase teacher diversity and quality, according to ct.gov.

Escobales said she chose to pursue a career in education because of her passion for working with children.

“I always loved working with kids and always enjoyed interacting with them,” she said. “Having the experiences of being an intern in a classroom and seeing the potential of the children has inspired me to be the type of teacher that reaches all students. I also had great elementary school teachers who helped me become the person I am today.”

Escobales aspires to be an elementary school teacher, preferably for grades two through four, she said.

“(My) goals as an educator are to make my classroom a safe learning environment for the children,” Escobales said. “I also want to make an impact on them that they can carry for the rest of their lives. Long term, I want to be the best educator that I can be.”

In her time at Central, Escobales said she plans to get involved in programs on campus and in the community.

“I hopefully plan to be part of the educators rising program when my schedule is not as hectic,” she said. “I am planning to be part of the NextGen (Educators) internship program and get back into working in the classroom at some point when my schedule allows it.”

The NextGen Educators program is a partnership between CCSU and the CSDE to give students paid hands-on classroom experience, according to the NextGen Educators section of the CCSU website.