Honoring Brevard County Educators

The Dr. Andrew T. Kemp Scholarship

Now Accepting Applications for the Fall 2022 School Year

Scholarship Information:

The Dr. Andrew T. Kemp Scholarship is a $5,000 tuition scholarship awarded to a student graduating from high school in 2022 and who will be attending an accredited college or university starting in Fall of 2022.

Scholarship Application Essay Prompt:

“Many teachers and other educators impact us throughout our childhood. Although it may be hard to choose just one, think back on a specific educator and write an essay telling the story of how they impacted you, what you learned from them (academically or otherwise), and how that educator has impacted the future of your life beyond high school.”

Application Instructions:

1. Read the prompt and compose an essay to submit. Please keep word count under 5,000 words. There is no minimum length.

2. When you're ready, submit your essay using the form on the right.  If you’d prefer to send a PDF or Word file, please email it to scholarships@mallikarjunan.org.

3. Essay submissions are due before 11:59 PM Eastern Time on March 15th, 2022.

4. All submissions will be reviewed by a panel. The winner will be selected by the panel, then notified via phone and email by May 15th, 2022.

About Dr. Andrew T. Kemp:

Dr. Andrew T. Kemp is an Associate Professor of Curriculum, Instructions, and Social Justice at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. In addition, he is the Chair of Teacher Education. Prior to that, he'd held teaching posts at several other universities following his nearly 10 years as an educator at Rockledge High School in Rockledge, FL. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 1992, received his Master of Education degree from South Dakota State University in 1996, and achieved a Doctorate in Education from the University of Central Florida in 2007.

You can learn more about Dr. Andrew T. Kemp on his personal website or his faculty and research profiles at Augusta University.

Background:

There are few professions that enable people to have such an immeasurable, ongoing impact on the world than that of a teacher. 

In elementary school, teachers guide us through the basics of learning and inspire our passions for subjects of future interest and pursuit. In middle school, teachers help us transition into a more rigorous education and learn to live in a more complex social environment while dealing with changes in our own minds. In high school, teachers refine our interests in subjects and activities that shape our futures and help prepare us for our lives as adults.

Thousands of lives are shaped by a teacher throughout their careers, and countless lives are impacted by those shaped lives in turn. Many of us are especially impacted by individual teachers who set us on a specific course.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in the Brevard County Public School system, where all three phases of my initial schooling were guided by excellent educators. It would be impossible for me to individually recognize every educator and administrator who contributed to who I am today.

In the context of my professional career, however, one teacher had a uniquely significant impact: Mr. Kemp (and yes, more than a decade later, I still call him "Mr. Kemp"). He taught AP English Language and Composition at Rockledge High School when I was attending there as a member of the Class of 2006.

His work educating me in rhetoric and composition has been a vital variable in my career as a communications professional. Countless meetings have been brought to a confused pause while the attendees tried to process the random Latin or Greek names of rhetorical devices that I've brought up while explaining our communications strategies.

His work educating me in life and the role I can play in the world was equally impactful. He helped me see the broader range of complex issues in our world and helped me see -- and believe -- the greater impact that we can all make.

So, in honor of the many great teachers I had growing up in Brevard County and educators everywhere who put up with kids like me, it is my great pleasure to name this scholarship after Dr. Kemp.

Past Winners:

2021:

The Class of 2021 had one of the toughest years that any high school students have faced in recent memory. Our usual essay prompt (“What will the world look like for you in 10 years?”) was almost impossible to answer.

We received a ton of great essays anyways. The Class of 2021 is clearly made of strong stuff, and I’m optimistic that they’re going to have an incredible impact on the future of our world.

This year’s winner, Jesus Delgado, immigrated to the US from Cuba with his family when he was just 11 years old. Like me, he grew up in the shadow of America’s Space Program. He plans to eventually go work at NASA and help push the boundaries of what’s possible for humanity.

Here’s an excerpt from his essay:

“In inspiring others we can also find true meaning, as the ideas and efforts of those younger generations might just contain the solutions to many of the problems we might face. It is then that I shall rejoice in helping explore our vast universe and also empowering our younger generations as they will be the new driving force towards a better tomorrow.”

Click here to read his full essay.

2020:

We’d like to congratulate Kendall Tyron Moore II, attending Morehouse College. His essay was incredibly thought-provoking, if at times somewhat heart-breaking as well.

Excerpt:

“Currently, the world is braving the COVID-19 pandemic, battling climate change, and bracing for the future of an Earth that is becoming overpopulated. In America specifically, we are facing our own national problems.

This submission comes only days after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer in a case of social injustice, resulting in people of all kinds leading demonstrations, both for the good and the bad.

Yes, the issue of riots across America and the global pandemic are problems of today, but they are only rain drops under a massive umbrella of issues prevalent in today’s society. The issues of racism, sexism, oppression, and discrimination are felt across the world, in all cultures. The issue of health and healthcare for all is an issue felt across the world and most specifically in the United States. The issue of climate change and global warming are issues, literally, felt across the world.

My generation is taught to not only learn academic material, but to become “thinkers”. These “thinkers” are tasked with solving these major global problems. However, until my generation is able to go out into the world and create real change, say for the next ten years, the world will continue to spiral out of control in opposing directions.”

Click here to read his complete essay.

2019:

For our first year, we split the scholarship between Ethan Trapold and Danielle Doyle - two of Rockledge High School's AICE students. Helping launch the AICE program (Advanced International Certificate of Education) is one of the many lasting impacts that Dr. Kemp had at RHS. Learn more about the AICE program in Brevard County Schools by clicking here.