Two students at the University of California, Santa Barbara have been awarded the Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color (WW-RBF).

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) established the $30,000 scholarship in 1992 to help recruit, support and retain individuals of color as public education teachers and administrators. Honorees are required to teach in underrepresented areas for three years upon completion of their graduate degrees. The program has awarded nearly $8 million in grants and financial assistance to 375 fellows since its inception.

Fourth-year students Nanor Balabanian and Allyson Miller will attend UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education next year, which was one of only four education programs in the country to have both of their nominees receive the fellowships. 

Miller, a black studies major who aspires to teach English, told the Daily Nexus she looks forward to the prospect of inspiring students in an underserved community.

She also said her personal experiences as a pupil set the foundation for her future as an educator.

“I want to pass on the same drive and motivation that teachers instilled within me,” Balabanian, a political science major, said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all the teachers and education I’ve gotten at UCSB. I feel like I’m representing a bunch of people who won this award, not just myself.”

Balabanian said she aims to encourage students to cultivate a passion for cross-cultural understanding.

Balabanian and Miller were just two of the 25 recipients of the award in 2012. The 25 WW-RBF Fellows were chosen through a competitive selection process. Each Fellow was nominated by one of the program’s 48 nominating institutions and 29 graduate education programs.

 Photo from UCSB Graduate School of Education.