The Nu Alpha Gamma Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma International recently awarded a $600 grant-in-aid to Molly Moorhead of Perry, a 2022 graduate of Perry High School and now a senior at the University of Northern Iowa, with a major in English and minor in creative writing.
The annual Nu Alpha Gamma award goes to a college junior or senior who is majoring in education and living in Dallas County or who graduated from a Dallas County High School.
In her application, Moorhead described her passion for teaching language and literature.
“Since I was little, I always knew I wanted to live a life where I could help people,” she said. “When I assess my future career as an English teacher, I see more than a job — I see an opportunity to help students, with both classroom and outside matters, foster a love and appreciation of literature and writing — such as the kind I have — and especially create a safe space for learning, growing and trying new things. Besides my primary goal of fostering an appreciation of literature in students and teaching young minds that reading isn’t something that needs to be dreaded, my goal is to promote diversity in the classroom and ensure that every student feels that their voice is heard.”
Moorhead received many awards in high school for her activities in speech and music, and she made the Dean’s List for three consecutive semesters at UNI. She received the First Friday Breakfast Club Scholarship, which commemorated her journey toward making the world a more accepting place for the LGBTQ+ community and her fight against homophobia in schools.
Moorhead was urged to apply for the grant by Nu Alpha Gamma member and PHS Librarian Mari Butler-Abry, who felt Moorhead would be an ideal candidate for the award.
“In my time working with Molly when she was in high school as her speech coach, I could tell that she has exactly what it takes to be a fabulous educator,” Butler-Abry said. “Molly is talented, driven and kind, and I immediately thought of her when I heard Nu Alpha Gamma was accepting applicants.”
Nu Alpha Gamma is a society of women educators who teach and/or live in Dallas County. They meet once a month to enjoy fellowship, interesting programs, networking and leadership opportunities.
Sue Leslie is the secretary of the Nu Alpha Gamma Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma.
