“What I enjoy most about teaching is the academic and intellectual part of it,” said Selah Bekele-Piper, a 2025 graduate of the UNC School of Education’s Master of Arts in Teaching program. “One of my favorite things is getting kids to think deeply about the world around them. Yes, kids need to develop core skills like reading and math, but I also want them to question things, to be curious, and to challenge ideas.”
As a 4th grade student teacher at Stories Creek Elementary School in Roxboro, Bekele-Piper — who is now licensed in elementary education and special education — worked to develop lessons that would reach every child and grow their critical thinking skills. One example, Bekele-Piper developed an engaging learning experience focused on the Greensboro sit-ins, a pivotal Civil Rights Movement event in both North Carolina and American history.
During the unit, students analyzed photographs and videos, engaged in meaningful discussions, and explored North Carolina history through photographs, videos, articles, and letter writing — an approach that not only taught them about their state’s history but also sparked excitement and curiosity to learn more. The experience even prompted emails of appreciation from parents of her students.
For her impact in the classroom during the 2024-25 school year, Bekele-Piper is the School’s 2025 Student Teacher of the Year. 
“I can remember writing on a Post-It note ‘You ARE a teacher!’ during one of Selah’s lessons because she has the innate ability to teach,” said Mary Jane Bowman, a fourth-grade teacher at Stories Creek and Bekele-Piper’s mentor teacher. “Her ability to connect with her students and her talent for teaching are well beyond a student teacher’s level. Her ability to teach simple to advanced concepts and make learning relevant and exciting is exceptional.”
Bekele-Piper had the opportunity to observe and support classrooms across multiple grade levels in both general and special education across an entire school year. She said she pursued the MAT program because of its focus on elementary and special education and its commitment to serving students with unique needs. As a member of the second cohort of the Fellows for Inclusive Excellence program, she was able to teach in a rural school.
When student teaching, Bekele-Piper said she designed lessons that were fast-paced and varied, incorporating movement, discussion, and students’ strengths and established target skills to build on the capacities her students already possessed.
“My classroom celebrates a growth mindset,” Bekele-Piper said. “I tell my students that I love when they make mistakes because it tells me how to teach and shows me that their brains are growing. Because I love my students, I have high expectations for their effort. I encouraged productive struggle, curiosity, and peer collaboration to build deeper understanding and confidence.”
Bringing passion, authenticity, and a family legacy to the classroom
Coming from a family of educators and one that has been transformed by the power of education, Bekele-Piper draws inspiration from her grandparents, who grew up in rural Ethiopia but, with the guidance of a few great teachers, pursued paths that changed their lives — and ultimately hers.
“I’ve felt the generational impact of education,” Bekele-Piper said. “Everyone in my family deeply believes in it. My grandparents were teachers and my parents were teachers. It’s in our blood.”
Growing up, she worked with kids as a soccer coach, piano teacher, and children’s church volunteer. She also worked as a behavioral technician supporting children with autism and significant functional or behavioral needs — a role that sparked her passion for working with people with varying needs.
“From my job working with children with autism, it sparked my interest in special education,” Bekele-Piper said. “Even with students who displayed physical or verbal aggression, my instinct wasn’t to pull away — it was to lean in and understand.”
But despite her upbringing and experiences, Bekele-Piper had never been in a classroom as a teacher until coming to Carolina. She completed an internship in a sixth-grade social studies class at Culbreth Middle School — a requirement of the School’s Human Development and Family Science program from which she graduated in 2024. She said that experience cemented her love for teaching.
Cheryl Mason Bolick, Ph.D., an associate professor who taught Bekele-Piper as an undergraduate and an MAT student, highlighted her engagement and eagerness to learn about teaching and best practices for today’s classrooms in a letter nominating her as Student Teacher of the Year.
“She has a high level of curiosity and a sincere commitment to the field of public education,” Bolick wrote. “The assignments and lessons she created not only had academic rigor but also considered her students’ diverse backgrounds, including language, culture, and social-emotional learning.
“I am inspired by Selah,” Bolick continued. “We are fortunate to have students such as her committed to North Carolina public schools.”
Learning through mentorship
Bekele-Piper shared that her most significant growth as a teacher occurred during her yearlong student-teaching internship at Stories Creek, where she took on all responsibilities of a classroom teacher, including planning, grading, and managing the classroom. Through this experience, she cultivated skills that enabled her to build trust with students and promote engagement. She said those skills were strengthened through the expertise and mentorship she received from members of the School’s community, especially her mentor teacher.
“Selah is an exceptional teacher who knows her students and develops meaningful lessons to reach each child,” Bowman said. “She was an active teacher and learner from the moment she stepped into the classroom and jumped right in at any opportunity to do whatever it took for our students to be successful.”
“Ms. Bowman treated me like a partner, gave constant feedback, and encouraged reflection after every lesson,” Bekele-Piper said. “As a perfectionist, that was tough at first, but I came to appreciate it. She wasn’t trying to make me her. Instead, she was trying to help me become the best version of me.”
During the 2025-26 academic year, Bekele-Piper will serve as a special education resource teacher at Glenn Elementary School in Durham. As a beginning teacher, she aims to foster a growth mindset, strengthen peer collaboration to build deeper understanding and confidence, and work closely with her school community to serve students best.
“Collaboration is one of my core values as an educator,” Bekele-Piper said. “As I prepare for my role, I know collaboration will be fundamental to my efficacy. I aim to be an active partner and champion for students to receive a streamlined approach across special education, general education, and home settings.”
As the School’s Student Teacher of the Year, Bekele-Piper will advance to the statewide Student Teacher of the Year competition, organized by the North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, with the winner being announced this fall.
