The Connecticut Education Foundation, CEA’s charitable arm, has awarded scholarships to four students this year to help them pursue careers as public school educators.
Most scholarships include $2,000 toward tuition for each year a recipient is enrolled in an undergraduate program leading to educator certification; the Gloria Brown Aspiring Educator Scholarship provides a one-time award of $2,000 that may be used toward tuition, professional clothing, or materials needed to start a career in public education.
Also included with scholarship awards are membership in CEA’s Aspiring Educator Program and participation in CEA’s Summer Conference.
“We are so pleased to award financial assistance and professional development opportunities to students who are interested in becoming educators, and we look forward to seeing them lead their own classrooms,” says CEF President and CEA Vice President Joslyn DeLancey.
Find out more about CEF scholarships.
Meet this year’s winners.
Luis Astacio – Racially and Ethnically Diverse Future Educators Scholarship
“The more I’ve learned about chemistry, the more I’ve wanted to learn,” says Trumbull High School graduate and UConn freshman Luis Astacio, who hopes to take a subject a lot of people find hard and confusing and make it clear, interesting, and fun.
“Science has always been one of my favorite subjects, and I want my future students to feel the same excitement about chemistry that I do,” he says. “My goal is to help students enjoy learning and feel proud of what they can do. I want them to ask questions, be curious, and maybe even discover a love for science, like I did.”
He adds, “I’ve always known I wanted to do something that helps people and has a real impact, and over time, I realized that becoming a teacher is the right path for me. Connecticut cares about education and helping students succeed, and I want to be a part of that.”
Astacio says his mother, a Spanish teacher, was a big influence on his decision to teach.
“Growing up, I saw how much she loved her job and how much her students respected her. She showed me that being a teacher goes beyond lessons—it’s about building relationships, supporting students, and making sure they know someone believes in them. Seeing the difference she made in her students’ lives made me want to do the same.”
Lindsey Houle – Phil DiGiovanni Future Teacher Scholarship
A 2025 Stonington High School graduate, Lindsey Houle is nothing if not deeply involved in her school and community.
Student government vice president and a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, Houle organized and participated in events ranging from blood drives to holiday toy drives, veterans’ dinners, and Teacher Appreciation Week. She was also a high school peer mediator, helping students prevent and resolve disputes, as well as a freshman orientation volunteer, vice president of the school’s Women’s Empowerment Club, and member of its Civics Community Club.
Houle is attending UConn this fall, where she plans to major in special education.
“The reality is I didn’t know I wanted to become a special education teacher until my sophomore year of high school,” she acknowledges. “That summer, I needed to fill a hole in my school schedule, and the only option was Unified PE.”
Through the Unified program, Houle discovered a passion for working with students who have special needs.
“They are inspiring, talented, caring, and perfect exactly the way they are,” she says. “I want to be a special education teacher because I believe everyone deserves a quality educational experience, no matter how they learn.”
The Phil DiGiovanni Future Teacher Scholarship is awarded to the child of a CEA member who wishes to pursue a career as a public school educator. Houle’s mother, social studies teacher Ann-Marie Houle, is Stonington’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.
Laila Wilson – Racially and Ethnically Diverse Future Educators Scholarship
When asked why she wants to teach, Laila Wilson points to two core memories.
“When I was in third grade, I remember walking into the classroom on the first day of school and seeing a woman with light brown skin and hair close to mine,” she recalls. “Let’s call her ‘Ms. Smith.’ I’d never had a teacher who looked like me or who wasn’t white. I was so fascinated by her, I tried my best for her and wanted her approval. She was amazing—kind and with this confidence I looked up to.”
Wilson didn’t miss a day of school that year, and her perfect attendance paid off with an award on the last day of school.
“Besides that, there was one more award for me that I wasn’t expecting,” Wilson notes. “Our teacher announced to the entire class that I was getting the ‘future Ms. Smith award’ because I reminded her of herself, and she thought I would make an excellent teacher. I remember feeling so excited and honored.”
When COVID hit, during Wilson’s sophomore year of high school, her passion for teaching was reignited.
“I came across a documentary series that showed students around the world and their journeys to school,” she explains. “I watched kids younger than me walk miles through the blazing sun, rain, snow, jungles, and other rough conditions just to have the opportunity to learn. I realized how crucial education was and how much people were willing to go through to get it.”
Wilson is enrolled in Eastern Connecticut State University’s early start graduate secondary English education certification program as she completes her undergraduate English coursework. She hopes to foster a love of reading in students who find it boring or don’t necessarily think they’re good at it.
“Teaching truly is the most important job in the world, and I would pick it as my career path every time.”
Hannah Spinner – Gloria Brown Aspiring Educator Scholarship
Hannah Spinner is the first-ever recipient of a scholarship established in honor of the late CEA leader Gloria Brown, whose unionism and support for CEA’s Aspiring Educator Program (CEA-AEP) were defining features. A local president, member of CEA’s Board of Directors and Executive Board, and president of CEA-Retired, Brown was an outspoken advocate for teachers and students.
Spinner, the chair of CEA’s Aspiring Educator Program, has all the makings of a similar leader.
A student at UConn, where she is now completing her master’s degree and serves as president of the Future Educators Club, she has testified on education-related legislation, spoken at press conferences on issues affecting aspiring educators, facilitated meetings between lawmakers and pre-service teachers, participated in CEA’s Summer Conference and Early Career Educator Conference, and helped plan a variety of events connecting aspiring educators to their communities.
“We’ve had teacher self-care nights, invited UConn professors to discuss multicultural literature in the classroom, had CEA staff discuss postcard-writing campaigns we can do with legislators, and more,” she says. Among the legislative proposals Spinner fought for were stipends for student teachers, tuition assistance for aspiring educators, and higher teacher salaries. Last year, she applied for and was awarded an NEA CREATE Grant to produce an art installation called Piecing Together for Political Action. A collaborative effort of all CEA Aspiring Educator chapters, the finished product—displayed at the State Capitol in 2025—illustrated issues important to aspiring and active educators.
“Two years ago, I would never have thought my voice as an undergraduate student in education had so much power,” she says. “I would never have thought I would be on the news, talking to those who shape the laws in our state, or being a reason that more aspiring educators want to get active in CEA-AEP. However, the moment that I took the chance to be a part of something larger than myself, I never looked back. It’s my long-term goal to use the voice I have gained through this work to steer the future of education.”
