For Immediate Release 5/2/2022 

Established in 1983, the Presidential Awards  for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) annually recognize outstanding  classroom teachers for their achievements in the profession. The Council of Presidential  Awardees in Mathematics, Inc. (CPAM) has established a scholarship program for high school  seniors who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in mathematics and who intend to  pursue a course of study to prepare to teach mathematics at the elementary or secondary school  level. Carrie Birchfield, a student at Powdersville High School in Greenville, South Carolina (Anderson School District One), has been named the 2022 recipient of the Denise I. Griffiths  CPAM Scholarship. The scholarship awards $2000 renewable for 3 additional years for a total  of $8000. 

Carrie was nominated by Dr. Jenny Van Buren, the South Carolina 2019 PAEMST  Awardee. Carrie participated in the South Carolina Teacher Cadet Program, a curriculum-based  college level course designed to provide a challenging introduction to teaching. She will be  attending Clemson University in the fall. Jenny shares, “Carrie is an outstanding mathematics student, and she is always willing to help her classmates learn. She is going to be an amazing  mathematics teacher. She is highly capable, motivated to achieve, and passionate about helping  students learn mathematics.”  

Carrie’s essay tells of her excitement with mathematics. She states, “I cannot change the  wiring of a student’s brain, but I have the skillset and desire to help students understand math  topics…Good teachers are necessary, but excellent teachers are a gift, and I hope to be a gift to  the students who come my way.”

For more information, press only: 

Jenny Van Buren, Ed.D. 

Powdersville High School 

vanburenj@apps.anderson1.org 

For more information on the CPAM Scholarship: https://cpam.org/documents