3 minute read
A Teacher in the Making
BY JENNIFER HOWE
Amanda Mills has dreamed about being a teacher since she was a little girl. However, she didn’t know she wanted to work in special education until she was 13, when her nephew was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She witnessed how efforts by an applied behavior analyst therapist changed his life.
“He had communication skills we thought he might never have, and my sister had the tools to help her son thrive,” said Mills. “I knew then that I wanted to work in the field of special education. I have a passion for helping others, and I love kids.”
Mills selected UNC Charlotte because of the outstanding academic reputation of the special education program offered through the Cato College of Education.
“I was excited to go to a university that I believed would set me up for success as a future teacher,” she said.
It also helped that her older sister had graduated from UNC Charlotte and was beginning her graduate program.
“It was fun commuting together and meeting up on campus during our breaks,” she said.
Shortly after beginning her UNC Charlotte studies, Mills learned she was pregnant. She questioned being able to afford school and support her son on a single income.
Kat Lawrence
—AMANDA MILLS
However, her call to teach fueled her determination to make her dream come true despite the challenges she faced. “I have had such supportive classmates, professors and friends who have helped me at UNC Charlotte, and it has been an amazing experience,” said Mills.
Last spring, Mills received a life-changing email. She was chosen to receive an Evergreen Scholarship in honor of UNC Charlotte alumnus Wil Loesel ’18, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools middle school math teacher diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2020.
“Receiving the Evergreen Scholarship in honor of Wil Loesel was a confirmation that I am exactly where I need to be,” said Mills. “It was such a huge honor and blessing to be chosen. I have read Wil’s story and am amazed at his dedication to teaching and helping the kids in his community. I aspire to be that kind of teacher.”
The scholarship is covering her unmet financial need for her senior year, and Mills realized challenges she endured earlier in her life were for a good reason. Leaving an abusive marriage that, at times, resulted in deep depression and thoughts of suicide, Mills pressed on to obtain an associate degree from a community college. She transferred to UNC Charlotte, still focused on achieving her goal of becoming a teacher.
“God gave me the strength to fight through the struggle, and I feel extremely blessed to be here today,” said Mills. “I can now look back and see how I have grown as a person and where my struggles have taken me — right here to being a senior at UNC Charlotte and being the recipient of such an amazing gift.”
The Evergreen Fund was established in 2015 as an initiative of the Division of Academic Affairs to support the most pressing student needs identified by the Enrollment Management Office. Evergreen Scholarships have been awarded to a diverse population of undergraduate, degree-seeking students based on financial need, academic achievement or other criteria that prioritize recruitment and retention. Evergreen Scholarships also are awarded to UNC Charlotte students who are close to degree completion and require a small amount of financial assistance to graduate. Earlier this year, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools adopted remote learning for students due to COVID-19, teacher Wil Loesel ’18 continued to instruct students from his hospital room; he was being treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His dedication inspired the creation of an Evergreen Scholarship in his honor.
