Ruth Markezich '25

The Watson College is pleased to announce that Ruth Markezich ’25 has received a spring 2025 Hattie M. Strong Scholarship award. Ruth is from Newport, North Carolina. She will graduate in May with a degree in Elementary Education, with a concentration in Fine Arts.

Ruth said she has always wanted to be a teacher, and her work in a P-K classroom for the past eight years has reinforced her goal. She chose to pursue a degree at UNCW because the Watson College offers a strong extended learning program with online classes that enabled her to balance coursework and family, while still working full time.

“As a TA I felt as if I had a good understanding of teaching,” she said. “As an intern and having so many different opportunities to work in the classroom, I have discovered so much more about what teaching really is. This has prepared me for my future classroom with a better sense of how to create lesson plans, prep material, and work with my team to make sure lessons coincide with each other.”

She said she has learned from her professors - including Dr. Amy Taylor, Dr. Cara Ward and Dr. Traci Bellas – to take great pride in taking care of her students, with an eye on their overall well-being, as well as how they are doing on day-to-day assignments.

Ruth is currently completing an internship at Newport Elementary School in Carteret County and said the Hattie Strong Scholarship came at the perfect time.

“The Hattie M. Strong scholarship award means a great deal to me,” she said. “It shows that my hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed. This award has taken stress out of my life and helped me focus on my studies and my family. The scholarship will also help me pay for all of the tests that are required to get my teaching license and help support my family while I am looking for a teaching position after graduation. I want to thank the Hattie M. Strong Foundation and the Watson College for awarding me this wonderful gift.”

About the Hattie M. Strong Scholarship Awards

The Hattie M. Strong Foundation has helped aspiring students achieve a college degree since 1928. Today, HMSF’s primary activity is to provide scholarships for students enrolled in teacher training programs at partnering institutions to help reduce financial pressure during the student internship semester, when a student’s ability to offset expenses with outside employment is curtailed by the rigor of full-time work in the classroom.

The Watson College joined a select group of institutions as a Hattie M. Strong Foundation partner in 2013. This valuable partnership enabled the College to award four $5,000 Hattie M. Strong scholarships to WCE interns for the spring 2025 semester.