 MSU students receive Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowships
Montana State University juniors Leo Killsback and Phenocia Bauerle have received the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowships for minority students entering the teaching profession. They received two of only 25 fellowships nationwide. The primary goal of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship program is to increase the number of minority teachers in American public education. Fellows are selected on the basis of qualities that would indicate their potential to become good teachers. Fellows receive $2,500 for their summer projects. Upon graduation and acceptance into an approved master's degree program, fellows are awarded $16,000 for two years of full time study. Killsback, of Busby, is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. He is majoring in mathematical sciences with a teaching option. Bauerle of Bozeman, is an enrolled member of the Crow Nation. She is majoring in English literature. Bauerle's mother, Patricia, a sixth grade teacher in Bozeman, has been her inspiration. "I aspire to make the same kind of difference that my mother has," Bauerle said. "She is a pillar of support for those students of color who struggle to find their place in a world that is just beginning to make room for differences in ethnicity and worldviews. I feel I can make a difference in the lives of my students." Killsback's goal is to return to the reservation to teach high school math. His summer project for the fellowship will be an apprenticeship in the MSU American Indian Research Opportunities office through the Montana Apprenticeship Program (MAP). MAP is a project that gives high school students from reservation schools the opportunity to experience college over a six week period. Bauerle's project is still being refined, but it will definitely focus on Native American literature. "It is of monumental importance that minorities are able to attain leadership and teaching positions as western society begins to be more accepting of diversity," Bauerle said. "The perspective that people of ethnic backgrounds can bring to the classroom can't be taught simply through the use of books and articles. Their own experiences help to enrich student understanding and shape attitudes toward diversity." Brenda McDonald
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