NC State’s College of Education Names Inaugural Director of Transformational Scholarships Program
The following is a press release from NC State’s College of Education
Trisha Mackey will be the inaugural director of the NC State College of Education’s Transformational Scholarships Program, effective Dec. 1. Currently, she serves as the academic and research coordinator with NC State’s TRIO Program and recently received the New Advisor of the Year Award from NC State’s Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA).
“With her background, experience and passion, Ms. Trisha Mackey will be a phenomenal director who helps us build a premier scholarship program that attracts and prepares the most promising future teachers for Eastern North Carolina and that becomes a national model for graduating highly effective teachers who serve in communities with greater needs but fewer resources,” says Anona Smith Williams, the College of Education’s associate dean for student success and strategic community engagement.
The Transformational Scholarships Program will provide scholarships totaling $40,000 over four years to 100 promising high school students from Eastern North Carolina who plan to return to the region to teach after graduating from the college. The first cohort of 20 Transformational Scholars will start in fall 2022 with additional cohorts of 20 students joining per year in each of the following four years.
As the inaugural director of the Transformational Scholarships Program, Mackey will provide leadership in the creation, implementation, management and assessment of the program; create innovative curriculum, high-impact co-curricular and field experiences; and establish partnerships to build, sustain and advance the Transformational Scholarships Program’s mission and vision.
“The Transformational Scholarships Program directly aligns with my philosophy of education being a vehicle for social change,” Mackey says. “Providing financial and holistic support to these scholars has the potential to improve not only their lives, but the lives of their families, future students and their communities as a whole.”
Before joining NC State, Mackey was the coordinator of Wake Partnership for Postsecondary Success’s N.C. Wake College Center, where she developed and implemented college awareness, preparation and access workshops in collaboration with community-based organizations for underserved and underrepresented youth.
She received her Master of Education in college counseling and student development from NC State’s College of Education and bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, and is pursuing her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University.
“The College of Education has a long history of living up to the university’s mission as a land-grant institution by preparing educators to serve the needs of their communities and transform the world through education,” Mackey says. “The Transformational Scholarships Program will add to these efforts.”
The Transformational Scholarships Program is supported by a $7.25 million charitable grant from the Anonymous Trust. That’s the largest gift ever made to the College of Education for student scholarships—and one of the largest of its kind ever made to any college of education in North Carolina.