Excelencia Scholarship expands CREEED’s support for educators in El Paso
El PASO, TX—CREEED has launched a new scholarship to inspire and support El Paso students to pursue a degree and career in teaching. The Excelencia Scholarship for Future Educators will be awarded annually to up to eight local high school seniors who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and are committed to attending a four-year college or university to pursue a degree in education.
This year, CREEED awarded its first Excelencia Scholarships to five students who are graduating from Burnham Wood Charter Schools, Canutillo ISD, Socorro ISD, Tornillo ISD, and Ysleta ISD: 
- Arahily Akosima from J.M. Hanks High School, attending the University of Texas at El Paso
- Cindy Ramirez from Montwood High School, attending the University of Texas at El Paso
- Marie Veytia from DaVinci School for Science and Arts, attending the University of Texas at El Paso
- Natalie Quinlan from Northwest Early College High School, attending New Mexico State University
- Sherlyn Carrasco from Tornillo High School, attending Elmhurst University
Each will receive a one-time $2,500 scholarship.
“By creating this scholarship for future educators, CREEED is removing barriers to college for students who want to eventually become educators, and helping continue to build a strong educator pipeline for the El Paso region. Many students start to decide the careers they want to pursue as early as high school, so this is one way to build a pathway for El Paso students to see teaching as a viable career path for them,” said CREEED Choose to Excel Director Nadia Tellez. “Each scholarship recipient has worked exceptionally hard and shown a commitment to entering the educator workforce. We are proud to support them as they take their first steps towards a critically important career.”
The Excelencia Scholarship furthers CREEED’s commitment to improving the rate of college completion and level of teacher preparation in El Paso. In addition to offering scholarships to help current teachers gain additional certifications, CREEED also supports a partnership between UTEP and local school districts to place student teachers in classrooms and a program to provide mentorship to teachers.
Pictures of the inaugural recipients of the 2024 Excelencia Scholarship for Future Educators can be found here.
For media requests about the Excelencia scholarship or CREEED and its efforts to support teacher preparation, please contact Kayla Suarez at 915-253-2200 or ksuarez@rabengroup.com or visit www.creeed.org/what-we-do/educators/.
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About CREEED
CREEED is a non-profit organization focused on increasing college readiness and completion rates. We invest in high-performing schools and high-quality initiatives that have shown success in closing the achievement gap for all El Paso County students. CREEED supports organizations, initiatives, and policies across four focus areas: Students & Schools; Educators; College & Career; and Parent & Community Engagement.