Scholarships & Educator Grants

Congratulations to the 2024 Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship Winners!

Kayla Coonfare

Elementary Education  - Appalachian State University 

Kyle Gray

Music Education - University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Emily Klinkoski

Music Education - University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Richard Nuckolls

Music Education - Appalachian State University 

Rebecca Snyder

Music Education - University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Endowed UNCW Scholarship recipient- Andrew Izzo

Andrew earned his Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education at UNCW and is now working on his Master of Education in Higher Education.  His goal is to help other UNCW students in an advisory capacity.  This award was over $2500 and originated from the Endowed UNCW DKG (Theta Chapter) funds.

Congratulations to the 2023 Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship Winners!

Tiffani Cash is a Teacher Assistant in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and full time student at Winston-Salem State University majoring in Elementary Education. She plans to complete her bachelor’s degree program in December and continue teaching in WS/FCS.  Tiffani was recently named Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools' Classified Employee of the Year!

Eric Demetrius Harmon is a graduate student at NC A&T State University seeking a Master of Arts in Teaching and certification in elementary education. His plans include teaching at the elementary level and eventually opening his own school.

Sherre Ojeda is a graduate student at UNC Wilmington seeking a Masters of Teaching degree in Elementary Education. Fluent in oral and written Spanish, she aspires to make the educational experience less intimidating and more welcoming for Spanish speaking students and their families.  Sherre recently received UNCW Watson School of Education's Exemplary Intern Award!

Grace Pedigo is an undergraduate at Appalachian State University majoring in Elementary Education. She feels her experience in Germany attending a DoDEA school and becoming bilingual will help her better understand the needs of students who are English language learners.

Mary Katherine Raynor, senior at NC Wesleyan University, believes her experience as a student athlete has helped her learn valuable life skills such as teamwork, discipline, respect, and compassion which will serve her well as an educator. Upon graduation, she plans to seek a teaching position at the k-6 level in NC. 

Dakota (Cody) Wiseman, a junior at East Carolina University is majoring in Music Education. After completing his bachelors degree, he plans to teach in eastern NC. In the future he would like to continue his education pursuing a masters and potentially a doctorate in music education and philosophy. 

DKG (Theta Chapter) Scholarship Winner- Madison N. Ayers

Madison N. Ayers is the 2022-23 recipient of the Delta Kappa Gamma Scholarship (Theta Chapter). Madison is an Elementary Education major at UNCW and is completing her internship in a 4th Grade classroom. 

Congratulations to the 2022 Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship Winners!

Meghanne Brunsink is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington completing her degree in Elementary Education with a minor in both Japanese and ESL. After graduating, she plans to work in a local elementary school and pursue additional licensure and education in teaching ELL students.

Mairead Colby is a Junior at East Carolina University, pursuing a Bachelor of Music Degree and majoring in Music Education. With a concentration in voice, she studies as a mezzo soprano.  In her future, Mairead plans to be an elementary school music teacher and work with developmentally delayed students.

Karla Lee is a senior at East Carolina University. She is studying Instrumental Music Education, seeking a bachelor's  degree in Music. Upon graduation, she plans to teach music at a low-income school. Through teaching, she would like to advocate for all students and the need for music education.

Marlee Schneider is attending Appalachian State University to attain a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in special education and a minor in American Sign Language. After graduation she would like to attend Appalachian State University’s accelerated admission graduate program to attain her master’s degree in special education.

Malcolm Vaughn is a sophomore choral music education student at Appalachian State University. He is studying voice and participates in the University Singers and Chamber Singers. In the Fall, Malcolm will continue his study in the Sustainable Development department at ASU to expand his knowledge outside of the school of music and explore different disciplines. He is devoted to bringing this new knowledge, as well as his past musical experience, into his career as an educator.

2023 Theta Chapter Educator Grant Winners 

Ashley Berdeau  - Surf City Middle School

"Digital Art for ALL" will encourage students to create digital art for presentation using Google Draw.

Tiffany Hansley-Jones  -  Rocky Point Elementary School

"Literacy Through Photography" will offer a forum and creative way to increase literacy skills by combining the visual linguistics and emotional aspects of learning.

Trevor Judy  -  Surf City Middle School

"Bringing the Digitally Connected World to Band Class"  will purchase a camera for the band to live stream performances for family and community members.  Students will access composer biographies to learn about composers - their music and composition. 

 Ashley LaSalandra  -  Malpass Corner Elementary School

 "Social Emotional Zones" will develop social emotional learning spaces ("calm down zones") for students of diverse needs throughout the school and individual classrooms.

        2022 Theta Chapter Educator Grant Winners

Laura Black - Rocky Point Elementary School 

“The Science of Sound”

This project is for 5th grade music students who love music and playing instruments together in ensembles. Students will work together in small groups to create an instrument and learn to play it.

Jennifer Bloodworth - Topsail Elementary School 

“Station Creation”

This project will create several stations in the classroom that differentiate in subject and instructional level to meet the needs of diverse learners in fourth grade.

Jody Keziah - Topsail Middle School 

“Reading In MS”

Fifth grade students will use Scholastic News magazines on a weekly basis to explore nonfiction topics as a strategy for increasing reading and language arts skills, promote a love for reading and develop lifelong reading habits.

Roseanna Robertson - Cape Fear Elementary School  

“Building Our Outdoor Environment”

This project will extend the classroom to the outdoors for kindergarten children by purchasing materials for outdoor furniture. The outdoor classroom will reflect areas that cover social-emotional development, cognitive, language, literacy, math, physical, science, social studies, the arts, technology, and even English Language Acquisition. All of these areas align with the creative curriculum - empowering children to learn and develop through play.

Shirley Womble - Malpass Corner Elementary School 

“Engaging Resources to Support Early Readers”

This project will provide first graders with hands-on materials to assist with the development of early literacy skills, in particular phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition of familiar words using evidence-based Science of Reading models for instruction and practice.

 2021 Theta Chapter Educator Grant Winners

"Kinder Coders"

Lizette Day -  NHCS Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist

"Rolling into Coding"

Melinda Durant, Tracy Tugwell, Carrie Boos -

 4th Grade Teachers at Carolina Beach Elementary School

"Reading is Fundamental"

Haley Miles - 1st Grade Teacher at Bradley Creek Elementary School

"Informational Guided Reading Texts"

Mary Porter - 3rd Grade Teacher at Pine Valley Elementary School

Available Grants and Scholarships

Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship 

The Marilyn F Grinwis Gray Scholarship, established by Theta Chapter in 2018, is awarded to individuals who are currently enrolled in Music Education or Elementary Education degree programs at a recognized college or university in North Carolina.  Ms. Gray had a passion for children and for music.  Applicants need not be members of Delta Kappa Gamma International.

Delta Kappa Gamma Scholarship (Theta Chapter)

Previously known as the Delta Kappa Gamma Scholarship (Beta Phi Chapter), the name was changed when Beta Phi officially merged with Theta in 2020.  This is a fully endowed scholarship, managed by UNCW.  It is to be used to assist students pursuing a degree offered by the Watson School of Education at UNCW.

Marguerite Bellois- Delta Kappa Gamma-Theta Chapter Award

This annually funded award (at least $1000 per year) is offered from the interest earned on funds left to Beta Phi Chapter by former member Marguerite Bellois. Awards from this fund are managed by the Watson School of Education at UNCW.  The intent of the award is to provide students with funds not otherwise available through scholarships, grants, or similar sources to assist pre-elementary, pre-middle school grades, pre-education of young children, pre-special education, incoming allied and secondary students, as well as Watson School students in their final semester of coursework with paying for their required testing and licensure exam fees to gain admission into the Watson School of Education at UNCW or to meet the requirements for teacher licensure from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.  This is a need-based award (determined by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.)  The amount of an award is determined by the Watson School of Education and will not exceed the total cost required by tests or licensure.

Theta Chapter Classroom Grants

Classroom grants, up to $500, are available to New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender County educators in the fall of each school year for classroom projects determined by the applicant.  Educators receiving a grant must be willing to share with Theta chapter members how the project positively impacted classroom learning in a short presentation at a future chapter meeting.