To recognize those who put in the extra hours in our schools, it only makes sense to host the celebration on the weekend. Calumet College of St. Joseph teamed up with Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana and the Catholic Diocese of Gary for the annual Northwest Indiana Teachers Scholarship Reception on Saturday, September 7. The event took place in the Katshanis Commons on the Calumet College of St. Joseph campus.
Dr. Amy McCormack, president of Calumet College of St. Joseph, feels that this event gives proper recognition to those making their transition to teaching.
“This is an evening of celebrating the teachers for all they do and recognizing their efforts in Catholic education,” McCormack said. “We’re encouraging those who are going through the program that are starting their journey teaching in the Catholic school system in the Diocese of Gary.”
McCormack provided opening remarks on behalf of Calumet College of St. Joseph. Dan Kozlowski, executive director of Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana, and Dr. Colleen Brewer, superintendent of the Diocese of Gary, spoke at the event for their respective organizations as well.
“I love this event because it's three organizations that come together for the betterment of our teachers,” McCormack said. “We all have the same motivation which is to support the teachers through these scholarships.”
The Northwest Indiana Teachers Scholarship was announced in 2022. It offers full tuition scholarships for students who are interested in participating in the Transition to Teaching program at Calumet College of St. Joseph. The three organizations committed $450,000 over three years to fund 10 scholarships per year.
Over the past few years, this program has continued to create a stronger educational community. Kozlowski has been pleased with the success they’ve had since the event first kicked off.
“This is the third year of the program and it’s already had a great impact on our teachers and the students,” Kozlowski said. “We’ve done a scholarship presentation for about 25 students over the three years. Many of them have already graduated through the program and work in the Diocese of Gary right now. With the teacher shortage across the country, it’s invaluable for us to have professionals who are coming back to school to get their education.”
“One of the barriers to getting this Transition to Teaching Certificate is the financial part of it,” Kozlowski said. “This is a very intensive course that requires many of these professionals to come back to school on the weekends and do their classwork on top of already working. We can handle the financial end of it as long as they’re willing to make the investment of time. We’ve got their back on that and it’s great to see all three partners come together to make it possible.”
This year’s recipients of the Northwest Indiana Teacher Scholarship were Gabriela Diaz, Allison Garrett, Samantha Mori, and David Zagorski.
Allison Garrett has deep roots within Catholic education so she knew that this was her calling and she’s enjoyed every part of it.
“Being a Catholic school teacher came in the footsteps of my grandmother, my mother, and many other family members,” Garrett said. “I knew that I had the support from my husband, kids, principal, and my entire family. They are the ones who pushed me to apply for this scholarship because they saw how passionate I was about teaching and supporting faith in the classroom.”
Samantha Mori is looking forward to how this opportunity will continue to inspire her moving forward in her career.
“I knew that being accepted into this program was going to make my life different,” Mori said. “I’m confident that it's going to set me on the path to success in my career, my future, and my forever. It's never too late to make a difference, change your path, and become successful. I look forward to returning that to those who I have an impact on.”
For more information on the Big Shoulders Fund, you can visit its website.
