Ashley Burton, an elementary education major at the University of Mississippi School of Education, is the recipient of a competitive scholarship from the Mississippi Geographic Alliance (MGA) to attend the National Conference on Geography Education in Tampa, Florida, in July.
The NCGE Scholarship was created by the MGA as a way to involve teachers with geography education at the state and national level with a focus on new and early career educators.
“We have a strong contingent of Mississippi educators who attend the conference each year, and we always learn something and grow stronger as a result,” said Carley Lovorn, MGA assistant director. “It’s an energizing event for us and we want to share that with more educators.”
Burton is a UM senior and a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Trent Lott Leadership Institute. She is currently a student teacher in rural Mississippi and plans to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Memphis next fall.
Burton’s former professor, Ellen Foster, associate professor of teacher education, recommended Burton for the scholarship. Foster is also president of the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE), which hosts the conference.
“As the president of NCGE, I hope Ashley will continue to inspire a love of geography and develop into a leader,” said Foster. “The power and energy of pre-service teachers are crucial to successful implementation of geography across the curriculum.”
Story by A. Abernathy