Pictured, from left, are: Jean Cantrell, Susan Buice (CREA President), President Mallard, Karen Hawley and Susan Dreschel.
By Jordan Beach
Cherokee County School District students with plans to become teachers and attend Reinhardt University will be recipients of a scholarship thanks to those who have devoted their lives to education.
The Cherokee Retired Educators Association (CREA) made a generous donation of $3,000 June 21 to Reinhardt University President Dr. Kina Mallard to be awarded to a CCSD graduate who attends Reinhardt University’s Price School of Education.
“We’re all retired Cherokee educators, and because we are Cherokee County retired educators and we love the school system in Cherokee County, we want to support that school system. We also all remember what it’s like to be that first-year teacher, being in college and struggling,” said Dr. Susan Buice, CREA President and a member of the Reinhardt Class of 1977.
“We appreciate the Cherokee Retired Teachers Association’s continued dedication and support of Reinhardt University students,” Mallard said. “These retirees know what it’s like to be in the classroom, to save for college and to ultimately educate the next generation. It is fitting that in their retirement they continue to support students who will one day walk down the path they have created in education in our community.”
Buice is a retired teacher who taught for 34 years in Cherokee County and is a great of example of how successful Price School of Education students can become. The first 20 years of her career were spent in Canton Elementary, teaching sixth- and seventh-grade Language Arts for the first three years, gifted classes in grades three through eight for the following three years, and then was back to sixth-grade language arts the remainder of her time there.
Buice then taught advanced placement literature and various other English classes for 14 years at Cherokee High School and was advanced placement department head for her final six years of her career. During the course of her career, she taught a night class for the Price School of Education.
“We want to support education students so that we are helping them become teachers and so they can love this profession just as much as we do. We support Reinhardt because it’s Cherokee County, it’s local and we want to help anyone we can,” said Buice.
After her retirement in 2014, Buice worked at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch as director of education and was an advocate for the seniors at Cherokee High School. She was also named Alumnae of the Year for Cherokee County Schools and inducted into the Cherokee County Teacher Hall of Fame.
The retired educators association has provided scholarships to students attending Reinhardt University for the past 16 years. The first scholarship was awarded in 2003 and since have ranged from $500 to $3,000. Funding for the scholarship is provided by CREA members and CREA sponsor Ned Castleberry.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be admitted to the Price School of Education, maintain a GPA of 3.75 and be a Cherokee County resident. Faculty votes on the recipients in August, and the awarded students attend the CREA meeting in December to be introduced and give thanks.
