The Kenan Fellow/Mentor partnership is the foundation of our program and what we do. What does this partnership mean to you?          

My project provided me with an opportunity to have two mentorship partners. Both of these partnerships have forever changed my life.  I think differently. I consider my partners business perspectives when I’m designing lessons. I look for opportunities to share with my fellow teachers the amazing experience I had. And now, I’m a poster teacher for the Kenan Fellows Program.          

Let me begin with my first externship at the North Carolina Council on Economic Education. As I posted earlier, this partnership provided me with the opportunity to travel to Baltimore, Maryland for the Annual Council on Economic Education Financial Literacy & Economic Education Conference.     http://www.councilforeconed.org/tag/annual-conference/       

Sandy Wheat, Executive Director NCCEE, provided me with all the time I needed to share my vision for increasing financial literacy for elementary school children K-5.  True to Mrs. Wheat’s leadership style, she began immediately searching for a scholarship for me to attend the CEE Conference in Baltimore. She knew that I would find a wealth or resources and meet banking and industry leaders that shared my passion for financial literacy. Mrs. Wheat secured a $1200.00 scholarship from Wells Fargo Bank for me to attend the conference. My flight, transportation, lodging, food, and conference fees were all taken care of with the scholarship.           

When I arrived in Baltimore, and opened up the conference program, I saw all of the incredible sessions that were made available to me because of the generosity of Joanna Leclair and Angel Zapata of Wells Fargo Bank. I had difficulty in selecting what to attend. The most memorable and most applicable sessions that I attended began with the Banking in the School Savings Program hosted by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education.  The session provided me with the knowledge and resources I needed to begin the first School Credit Union branch in Wake County, North Carolina.        

I’m currently working on a business partnership with Coastal Federal Credit Union, Raleigh, North Carolina. We will be “cutting the ribbon” to open the Fuquay-Varina Elementary – Coastal Federal Credit Union School Branch office in the next 60 days. Since attending the conference, I was selected to be on Governor McCrory’s Teacher Advisory Committee.  This business partnership is now being watched by our Governor as an example of the powerful impact of a business and education partnership. My goal of increasing financial literacy and my hope of ending generational poverty in our state is becoming a reality.  This all came about because of my amazing mentor, Sandy Wheat, and the vision and investment of Wells Fargo Bank.           

My Kenan Fellows partnership brought me together with a mentor that not only changed my life but will change the lives of the 780+ students at my school.  Because of Sandy Wheat’s excellent reputation and her business partnership with Coastal Federal Credit Union, CFCU is giving all of the students at FVES, no matter what the deposit amount, $20 when they open their savings account! As a Math Coach of a Title 1 school, I not only feel doubly blessed from CFCU’s generosity, but also feel a great sense of accomplishment in reaching my goal of creating financially sound citizens for the future, beginning with kindergarteners all the way up to 11 year old students.            

My other mentors supported my project goal of increasing global awareness. Working with the researchers at Duke Universities, Center for Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness launched my partnership with a 3rd grade teacher at FVES. Due to the interest and heritage of the students in the class, the countries selected were Australia, China, Japan, and Mexico.  On the day before our Thanksgiving break, Mrs. Pettus and I brought food that represented each country.  Australia offered rice with shrimp. China offered fried rice with chicken and vegetables.  Japan offered edamame. Mexico offered warm cheese quesadillas with salsa.  Students filled their plates with food from each country. Before we completed our global feast we asked students if they tried a food that they had never had before and if they liked the new food. Students pointed to various tables with enthusiasm and many student found that they loved edamame. The most popular food came from Mexico.  The four Hispanic students in the classroom felt valued from the overwhelming positive response and so did we as the teachers. For many cultures, food is an expression of their heritage.  Cultural celebrations will now always be a part of my teaching philosophy.  This came about from my Kenan partnership with CGGC at Duke.         

Additionally, I created a Global Web Quest on my web site, http://classroomherrick.net/www.classroomherrick.net/Global_Web_Quest.html for students to use to gather information to create a travel brochure.  My next step with the students will be for them to connect these countries with North Carolina in the Global Economy. The Center for Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness provided me with the web site resource and connections with the researchers who created the site. Just look it over! It offers a wealth of information at the click of your mouse. http://www.soc.duke.edu/NC_GlobalEconomy/index.shtml          

As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, my life and my teaching are forever changed.  These examples of the difference the Kenan Fellows partnerships have created in my life are just the beginning.  When I first interviewed, with Craig and Susan, I said my goal was to present a TED Talk one day.  That goal is still in the horizon but I know that I will achieve this dream as I continue to build my Making Global Cents project. I’m extremely grateful for what I’ve been given as a teacher and how my Kenan experience has changed me as a person.