Scholarships from author James Patterson support aspiring teachers in promoting passion for reading among school-age students.
GENESEO, N.Y. – More SUNY Geneseo students will benefit from the renewal of a scholarship program that best-selling author James Patterson created in 2013 at the college’s Ella Cline Shear School of Education. Patterson has donated $90,000 to the James Patterson Teacher Education Scholarship Fund at Geneseo to provide new scholarships of $6,000 for eligible incoming freshmen, first-year graduate students, and five renewal scholarships for seniors who have been receiving Patterson scholarships annually since the second year of the Patterson Scholarship program at SUNY Geneseo.
The Patterson scholarships support aspiring teachers in promoting passion for reading among school-age students, and generally, the importance of literacy in education. Students selected for the awards have the option of renewing the scholarships through graduation.
Receiving the new scholarships this year (all from New York) are graduate students Danielle Schantz from Huntington; Heather McFarlane, from Charlton; Tiffany Longacre from Geneseo; Natalie Malanowski from Albion; Megan Gooden from Marcellus; and Autumn Arnold from Lockport. Freshmen receiving scholarships are Sarah Hand from Rochester; Kari Michinski from West Babylon; Emily DeSantis from Patchogue; Maddison Moore from Marion; and Maria Papas from Hauppauge.
“I have the greatest admiration for James Patterson and his focus on developing a lifelong love of reading through his support of teachers,” said Anjoo Sikka, dean of the School of Education. “Reading takes you places you have not been before and helps you find community when you feel isolated. With guidance from our outstanding faculty, I am confident our Patterson scholars will be successful in cultivating a true love for reading among their students.”
The Patterson Family Foundation awards scholarships to students at 22 colleges and universities around the country. Geneseo’s Patterson Scholarship recipients were selected on the basis of their interest in pursuing a career as a school teacher with a preparation to promote literacy and an intent to instill in their students an enduring and lasting love for reading.