Scholarship honors Holtzclaw, Taylor
By Annette Calud, February 10, 2008
Huntersville resident Jill Gazzaway graduated from North Mecklenburg High School in 1984. She was one of many students who had both Jean Holtzclaw and Jerry Taylor as teachers.
They were dedicated teachers and extraordinary people with a combined 62 years of teaching in the school system. Most of those years were spent at North Mecklenburg High School.
Taylor was a member of Gilead Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. He served the church as a deacon, an elder, and also an adult Sunday School teacher for over 20 years.
Taylor passed away in 1998, and Holtzclaw in 2003.
It was then that former student Gazzaway began thinking of ways to honor their memory.
Holtzclaw was a 1958 graduate of North Mecklenburg High School and a member of the faculty for 33 years. She attended Appalachian State University and graduated from Queens College in 1962 with a bachelor’s in French. Holtzclaw won many honors, including North Mecklenburg’s Teacher of the Year. She was the head of the Foreign Language Department, investing in activities that offered students exposure to the world through European tours.
Holtzclaw was also involved at Derita Presbyterian Church as an elder, deacon, chair of Christian education, Sunday School superintendent, and Sunday School teacher. She also worked with Sun Tours as a tour director.
Taylor was a graduate of UNC Charlotte, where he served on the alumni board and worked for the Biology Department in the Herbarium. Taylor was a biology teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for more than 29 years and a biology teacher at North Mecklenburg High School for 22 of those years. He was an adviser for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Club, the Students Against Destructive Decisions Club and the Student Council for many years. He also started the soccer program, was a member of the N.C. Science Teachers Association and served as director of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Science Fair for over 20 years.
“A scholarship sounded like a good idea, but I wanted it to last,” Gazzaway said. “I wasn’t interested in raising some money and giving it away over the next few years. I wanted to create a legacy for these two people who had such a passion for teaching and had given so much of themselves to the school and to the community.”
After spending a couple of years pursuing several avenues for establishing a scholarship, Gazzaway wasn’t satisfied with any of those options.
When a friend mentioned the Foundation for the Carolinas, Gazzaway decided to meet with representatives. She ended up pursuing an endowment because it guaranteed the scholarship would be given year after year. “I couldn’t imagine a better way to honor Jean and Jerry than to award a scholarship to a senior pursuing a degree in education,” Gazzaway added.
The North Mecklenburg Teacher’s Memorial Scholarship (NMTMS) will be awarded for the first time this year. The recipient must be a high school senior. The winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship to pursue a degree in education.
Scholarship applications will be accepted until Thursday. To learn more about the scholarship, to make a donation and to apply, visit www.fftc.org in the scholarships section.
The Foundation for the Carolinas and the North Mecklenburg Teacher’s Scholarship continue to raise money to fully fund the endowment. They have $31,000 toward the goal of $100,000.