Chandra McCloud-Glover found a way to give.

She earned recognition as the  2018 Dance Educator of the Year for her work as an instructor at Northwest School of the Arts, but also for the Chandra McCloud-Glover Walk in Your Excellence Scholarship she established to help students pursue dance education.  

“A lot of my students were getting into these different summer intensives or training at different schools, but they couldn’t afford it,” said McCloud-Glover, who has spent the last 15 years with NWSA. “It used to be, ‘OK, I’ll give this person $50,’ and I couldn’t afford it. I remember, after this group of girls left, I just cried. I called my husband, and I was like, ‘what am I supposed to do? I just need a way to help them pursue their dreams.’”

She saw a commercial for the Truliant Federal Credit Union My Why contest, which allowed her to establish the scholarship.

“I was like, ‘well shoot, there we go—that’s my why,’” McCloud-Glover said. “I think it was for $25,000. I entered the contest, and I won. I donated that to our dance boosters to create the scholarship. ‘Walk in your excellence’ is my class motto. That gave me a way to give.”

A Durham native, McCloud’s mother Rose—also an educator—took her to see an Alvin Ailey performance at age 10. It sealed her fate with dance. Based on the impact dance had in her life, McCloud couldn’t stand to see students have the opportunity to study with companies like Ailey’s, but find themselves unable to attend due to financial obstacles.

“It’s so cool to get accepted into these prestigious places like the Ailey summer intensive, and then it’s disheartening when you can’t go, because you can’t afford it,” she said.

To apply for the Walk in Your Excellence scholarship, students must write a one-page essay about their need, and how it would help them walk in their excellence.

“At the very end, they have to type this sentence that says, ‘upon receipt, I promise that I will one day pay it forward to a dancer in need,’” McCloud-Glover said. “Then they sign it, and the scholarship committee reviews the applications. One person per grade level [6-12] gets $300 every year. This will be my fourth year.  It’s just been a blessing.”

*Note: NWSA has earned Dance Student of the Year, Dance Educator of the Year and/or the Dance Champion of the year for the last three years. NWSA student Kayla Mitchell received 2018 Student of the Year, and Makayla Church earned 2018 UNC Dance Major Student Teacher of the Year at NWSA.

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