MACON — Mercer University alumna Kaitlyn Fowler has been admitted to the Mississippi Teacher Corps, a graduate teacher preparation program designed to place educators in critical-needs public schools.
As part of the program, which began June 1, she will receive training, support, Mississippi teacher certification, and a full scholarship for a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Mississippi. Participants are placed in public schools experiencing a teacher shortage, where they teach and earn their degree simultaneously.
Fowler, from Jackson, Mississippi, graduated in May with a sociology major from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“I’ve always been drawn to education in some form, but it wasn’t until December of my senior year that I decided I wanted to be a teacher. Since I majored in sociology, not education, I needed to become certified,” she said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps’ 2023 cohort. It’s a fantastic opportunity, and I’m looking forward to learning and growing alongside an amazing cohort.”
A Newman Civic Fellow and Stamps Scholar, Fowler is the recipient of the William Fielding Ogburn Award for Excellence in Sociological Research and Alpha Kappa Delta Junior Award for Academic Achievement in Sociology. She also was selected as an alternate for a Fulbright Study/Research Grant to attend the Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research master’s program at Tampere University in Finland.
At Mercer, she was inducted into the Alpha Kappa Delta, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Pi and Tri Iota honor societies. She also was involved with Mercer Ambassadors, Mercer Admissions, URGE (Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity) and Women in Math and Science.
The Mississippi Teacher Corps accepts 25 to 35 candidates each year and prepares them to teach in seventh through 12th grade classrooms, with the goal of serving critical-needs public schools. The program defines critical-needs schools as those that have a high percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunch, an indicator of the level of poverty in the community.
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. With approximately 9,000 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, on major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at regional academic centers in Henry and Douglas counties, Mercer is ranked among the top tier of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University’s School of Medicine and Colleges of Nursing, Health Professions and Pharmacy. Mercer is affiliated with five teaching hospitals – Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center and Piedmont Macon Medical Center in Macon; Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah; and Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Columbus. The University also has an educational partnership with Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer Medicine, the clinical faculty practice of the School of Medicine, is based in Macon and operates additional clinics in Sumter, Peach, Clay, Putnam and Harris counties. Mercer is one of only 293 institutions nationwide to shelter a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society; one of eight institutions to hold membership in the Georgia Research Alliance; and the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit mercer.edu.
