Victoria Miller Nine-year-old Jessica [not her real name] was a shy little girl desperately missing her parents when Victoria Miller first met her at the Golden Slipper Camp in Stroudsburg, Pa. “She had never been to a sleep-away camp, and she was homesick,” said Miller, the camp’s arts and crafts coordinator. “I talked her through it, and within a few weeks she grew into a bright, social, and active camper, even returning to camp in the years since.” Miller said that making a difference in the lives of children at the Golden Slipper Camp is what convinced her to major in elementary and kindergarten education at Penn State. But paying for
college at her “dream school” was not something her parents were able to do, given that they had six other children. “I would not be a Penn State student without the help of scholarships, including the John Gilmartin Trustee Scholarship,” she said. Miller, who plans to graduate next spring after completing her student teaching at a school in Belle Vernon, Pa., has made the most of her time at Penn State. Currently, she is observing and helping out in a firstgrade classroom at Tuscarora Valley Elementary in Port Royal, Pa. “I am learning many valuable lessons, both from my students and my mentor;
lessons about how to be flexible, how to manage a classroom, and how to teach,” said Miller. She also has been a member of the Penn State Blue Band Silks. “The marching band has been one of my biggest activities at Penn State,” she said. “Nothing in my life will ever compare to the feeling of walking into Beaver Stadium for a night white-out game when all that you can hear is the sound of the crowd over the drums playing. The band has provided me with leadership opportunities, my closest friends, and a place at Penn State in which I know I will always belong.”
Dana Mitchell Sometimes all it takes is the encouragement of one teacher to give a student the confidence that he or she needs to succeed. Dana Mitchell wants to be that teacher. “Being from Washington, D.C., I see many youth who don’t receive enough classroom support and encouragement,” said Mitchell, a freshman who plans to major in childhood and early adolescent education. “They have no one to tell them that they can be great. I want to be that one teacher.” Mitchell knew from an early age that she wanted to teach as a result of watching her mother teach special
education students and mentor students in extracurricular activities. “My mother’s passion for helping her students succeed really rubbed off on me,” she said. “As a girl, I would gather my friends together and pretend to be a teacher, just like my mother. But I was determined that one day I wouldn’t have to play ‘school’ anymore. Instead, I would teach in a real school.” Mitchell chose to attend Penn State after a visit to the campus during which she “fell in love with the university.” But paying for it was going to be difficult. “When I first received my aid summary I didn’t
think I would be able to afford Penn State,” she said. “Receiving the John Gilmartin Trustee Scholarship was extremely helpful. And it was more than just financial assistance; it was a confidence boost. It showed me that hard work and determination pays off.” Mitchell noted that by giving her a scholarship, the Gilmartins played a role in encouraging her to go to college, to do well there, and to reach for her full potential. She remarked, “I hope to give the same encouragement to my own students one day.”
Penn State College of Education Annual Report
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