Hope Hanson Nancy Larson Foundation Scholar
Fort Myers, FL (February 6, 2019) – Florida Gulf Coast University student Hope Hanson has been named a Nancy Larson Foundation Scholar and awarded a $1000 scholarship in recognition of her personal narrative, academic achievement, and intense passion for education.
The Nancy Larson Foundation proudly supports students across the country majoring in elementary education by awarding scholarships to deserving students each year. Hanson is one of ten recipients selected from the many applications received by the Foundation.
Hope wrote of how a young boy waiting for a kidney transplant inspired her to be a teacher. “I thought I was impacting his life when I would enter the room with my art cart, but by the end of that summer, I realized how much he had impacted mine,” she said. “That little boy showed me my life’s purpose. This is the exact time when I knew I would become a teacher. I recognized that I have a core passion to enthusiastically teach, inspire, nurture, and encourage young children. Elementary education is the first and best opportunity to inspire a child to begin a lifetime of learning and to understand that education is the gateway to opportunity.”
“The selection committee was touched by Hope’s exuberance when she wrote that she wanted to spend her career inspiring children to learn, to grow, and to become confident, self-assured, and curious,” Nancy Larson said.
Juniors, seniors, and graduate students who have declared an elementary education major are invited to submit a personal narrative about why they want to teach, what personal experiences they have had that inspired them to teach, and what will make them excellent teachers. Applicants are also asked to include community service activities and experiences they have had working with children.
Larson, a former teacher and curriculum director, has dedicated her life to advancing elementary education. Nancy Larson Science K–5 programs were developed because teachers needed a classroom-tested science program that would prepare children for upper-level science classes and careers in science. The program was written to provide in-depth science content in an easy-to-teach format.