MNPS Lift Off to Lipscomb

The MNPS Lift Off to Lipscomb Scholarship was founded in 2022 with the goal of encouraging bright graduates from Metro Nashville’s zoned public schools to become teachers and return to teach in their home communities.

Each year Lipscomb’s College of Education will offer ten full-tuition scholarships to talented students who intend to become teachers. This scholarship is for students graduating from Antioch, Cane Ridge, Overton, Glencliff, McGavock, Hunter’s Lane, Pearl-Cohn, James Lawson, Hillsboro, Maplewood, Stratford, and White’s Creek High Schools in Nashville.

They may major in any degree leading to licensure, which includes early childhood and elementary education; middle grades; special education; foreign languages and the arts; as well as high school content areas (biology, chemistry, physics, math, and English).

Scholarship Qualifications

Program Information

To apply, please go to the Lipscomb Educator Scholars website and follow the streamlined application process there! The College of Education uses one application process for all of its undergraduate scholarships. Students must be admitted to Lipscomb to be considered for a scholarship.

Students may apply in December for an early priority interview, or wait for an interview in the spring. Applicants must complete a form, write short-answer essays, and participate in an in-person interview on one of the designated days.

Students in the scholarship program participate in ongoing leadership development activities throughout their collegiate career. There are regular group meetings and opportunities to connect with other students in the program, as well as the support of the Program Director for any academic or financial challenges a student may face. In order to continue receiving the scholarship each year, students must maintain full-time student status and continue pursuing a major that leads to teacher licensure.

Contact Us

Alondra Piña

alondra.pina [at] lipscomb.edu (alondra[dot]pina[at]lipscomb[dot]edu)

Lipscomb Educator Scholars

educatorscholars [at] lipscomb.edu (educatorscholars[at]lipscomb[dot]edu)

Meet Our Scholars

Meet Ana!

Ana immigrated to the U.S. in 2019 from Honduras and has been hard at work making Nashville her home. Ana is inquisitive, friendly, quick to ask questions, and to put down roots at her schools. As a future Spanish teacher, Ana knows what an asset it is to be bilingual and has been quick to mentor other English Language learners who are still mastering English. She has dreams of the many ways she’ll be able to help students and families in her future classroom - from supporting students with mental health challenges to helping families who want to learn English. During her 4 years of high school, her teachers made her feel welcome and safe; in the future, she would like to implement the same strategies so her students feel welcome and safe.

Meet Candelaria!

Candelaria is a strong and independent future Special Education teacher. Candelaria has known since she was young that she was interested in being a teacher after having a very special first grade teacher. She wants to teach her students “that being different is never terrible. Being different makes you… you!” She feels school helped her to be comfortable in her own skin, and to feel comfortable not following trends or having different ideas than her peers. She wants to help her students identify what they need for themselves and make connections to the real world.

Meet Jacob!

Jacob is a bright and vivacious future English teacher. Jacob is kind and lights up every room he enters. He is quick to make connections and loves to joke. His future students will find his classroom warm and welcoming. He says, “education, from an optimistic view, is the hope of giving the next generation the tools to be a healthy, happy human being. It’s not perfect, but it is absolutely beautiful.” He can’t wait to be a teacher who can give back to the community that helped him believe in himself and pass on the legacy of love to students who need it just like he did.

Meet Kayla!

Kayla is a cool, calm, and collected future early childhood education teacher. Kayla can keep her poise no matter the circumstances, and she is always her authentic self, which invites others to be honest and true to themselves. Kayla cares deeply about being part of a teaching profession that is beautiful in its diversity and ensures that students can find someone who shares their racial or linguistic background or religion at school. It takes a village to raise children, and Kayla is excited to be a part of that village to help students find the support they need at school to view their education and their future with optimism.

Meet Laurencia!

Laurencia is a future early childhood education teacher. She loves small children and has a natural gift for them with her sensitive, quiet, and calm nature. She can’t wait to be a teacher who loves every student regardless of their background, the teacher who puts their best foot forward every day, the teacher whose passion shines through in every moment. She has been through hard times, and she knows how hard it can be to ask for help. She wants her students to find her as a safe haven in their own storms and to learn that asking for help doesn’t make you weak.

Meet Valery!

Valery is a thoughtful and determined future elementary teacher. She can’t wait to make her classroom more about creativity and deep thinking than memorization. She wants to build a safe space where students can learn that life is full of happiness and opportunities. She is deeply curious about the world and has been asking big questions about how schools work for a while now. She wants schools to be like a beautiful garden where students can bloom, wonder, make mistakes, and grow into strong individuals.

Meet Aiden!

Aiden is a thoughtful future high school teacher. Aiden was uncertain about his future until he joined the Escalera program at his high school and met Mr. Sig. Mr. Sig helped him realize how capable he was and helped him get connected with Lipscomb. Aiden is passionate about mental health and providing safe spaces for students to talk about those challenges and how they impact their lives. He is also passionate about showing students that it’s never too late to grow and change as a person because it’s something he’s seen so powerfully in his own life. Aidens’ openmindedness and empathy will make him a teacher that his students will never forget.

Meet Jonathan!

Jonathan is a chill, thoughtful future high school teacher. Jonathan has a lot of interests and he is still deciding between math, science, or PE. He is deeply dedicated to his family, his church, and his community and he can’t wait to be a mentor for younger versions of himself. His junior year English teacher was a big role model for him as someone who knew how to have fun and joke around but also be serious, but more importantly, as someone who was transparent and really presented what it means to be human. Jonathan wants his students to learn that they are not alone and how to love themselves in his classroom because he knows how foundational these skills are.

Meet Saniya!

Saniya is a bubbly, positive future early childhood educator. Saniya loves children and exudes warmth and care with every interaction. Her optimism is contagious and she believes that opportunities are everywhere if you just look for them. Her natural skills have not gone unnoticed and she’s naturally assisted many of her teachers in her school. She can’t wait to have her own classroom and maybe even her own preschool one day.

Meet Yazeli!

Yazeli is a spirited future middle school teacher. Yazeli calls things like she sees them, makes friends easily, and is inquisitive and full of questions and opinions. She is quirky and silly and her middle school students will find every day an adventure with her. Yazeli is determined and has overcome many challenges including moving to Tennessee in high school and navigating a whole new city. She’ll bring that same spirit to being a teacher, and her resourcefulness will be an asset to her school.

Meet Marilyn!

Marilyn is quiet but perceptive and committed to getting things done. Marilyn had an amazing senior year English teacher who taught her that anxiety does not have to hold you back. He helped her build her confidence to speak up and share her thoughts with others, and now she finds herself doing things that a year ago she would have never believed possible. Marilyn can’t wait to give back to younger students and help them believe in their own strengths too.

Meet Mina!

Mina is a quiet but determined future elementary teacher. Mina has always been very introverted and shy but took the leap to be an Academy Ambassador when she was at Glencliff High School which really pushed her out of her comfort zone. She realized that this leap made her realize that she could do anything if she set her mind to it. She wants to impart similar lessons to her own students in the future - to feel comfortable putting themselves first and to learn how to stand up for themselves. Her patience and thoughtfulness will make her a wonderful guide for her young students!

Meet Micaiah!

Micaiah is an empathetic, thoughtful future elementary teacher. Micaiah is very perceptive and attuned to others' emotions which will make her well-equipped to create safe spaces in her classroom. She believes school should be a place of true learning where students learn they have the power to make change in the world.

Meet Daisy!

She is a hard-working and determined future elementary teacher. Daisy is a first-generation student who experienced doubt in her own abilities along the way as she thought about college and she wants to be a mentor to other students to help them believes in themselves. Daisy found her way by playing soccer in high school and joining student government and she knows sometimes students need extra time and patience to learn. She knows teachers play a key role in shaping the next generation and she is inspired by the support and motivation she received from her own teachers.

Meet Phineas!

Phineas is a thoughtful, laid-back future secondary teacher. He has found many ways to work with students over the years, including tutoring a 3rd grader as a senior, and worked Lipscomb’s soccer camps in the summer. He clicks naturally with students and finds himself grateful for the ways that they have impacted him. He knows that his patience and his determination are strengths he can lean on to help students find a sense of belonging and develop their own confidence. He is a perfectionist who puts too much pressure on himself, but he knows that this is a struggle all educators face to find a healthy balance.

Meet Jennifer!

Jennifer is a funny and caring future teacher who is great at building relationships and is excited to be a trusting ear for her students to lean on. Jennifer remembers how her own teachers uplifted and motivated her when she experienced anxiety and doubt in high school, and she can’t wait to be someone who constantly encourages her own students to believe in themselves. She wants to be a teacher because she wants to impact little kids’ lives. She believes that teachers shape our future - in our classrooms are our future leaders, future doctors, and future lawyers, and she loves the opportunity to play in a role in making our community a better place.