Senior education major Kelsey Welden has been selected to receive a scholarship from the Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators (TASPA) for the 2012-2013 school year. The scholarship will be presented at the organization’s annual awards luncheon at the DoubleTree Hotel in Austin Dec. 8.

The scholarship honors the best teacher candidates in the state. TASPA represents the recruiting/human resources staff of more than 340 school districts across the state.

Welden will be graduating in May 2013 and is certifying in both middle school math and all-level special education. While at Southwestern, she has worked with elementary-age students at a gymnastics camp, tutored at Giddings State School for incarcerated students, worked with a middle school math teacher on a special education project, mentored middle school students through the Operation Achievement program, worked as a YMCA day camp counselor, worked as a daycare instructor, and worked as a nanny for a 12-month-old child. She is also president of her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha.

“Kelsey is a very goal-orientated student with genuine enthusiasm for teaching and an even stronger passion for helping students with special needs,” said Roger Young, director of Career Services at Southwestern. Young helped nominate Weldon for the award.  

This is the 13th year in a row that a student in Southwestern University’s Teacher Certification Program has received a TASPA scholarship.

- LeLoni Brown