GSU accepting applications for Call Me Mister program until May 28

GRAMBLING – If you are a Black male whose dream job is teaching, Grambling State University is poised to help you see that dream fulfilled.

Because less than 2% of the teachers in America are African American males, Grambling’s Black Male Teacher Initiative joined with Clemson University’s nationally-known Call Me Mister program to help develop and recruit more Black men into the teaching profession.

The young African American men in the program receive scholarships, preferred housing, individual advising, mentors from practicing or retired professionals, recognition at school activities, professional development opportunities as well as other benefits.

Grambling State’s Call Me Mister initiative targets the 11 Teacher Preparation programs currently offered by the university with an emphasis on elementary education. The first cohort consists of six students, four from Louisiana and one each from Texas and Nevada.

Ja’Deric Talbert, a sophomore who is president of the Call Me Mister program at GSU, said a career in education wasn’t on his radar at first.

“In my senior year of high school, I served as a reading interventionist at Crawford Elementary School. After working with my students for over six months, and seeing them grow academically and socially, I knew education was my passion,” he said.