College of Education Announces Rumble Award Winners 

February 24, 2025 - The College of Education has announced this year’s recipients of the H.E. Rumble Outstanding Student Teacher Award, the college’s highest honor for student teachers. The winners are Keleigh Henry and Aubrey Montague, both Memphis natives. 

Keleigh Henry

Henry, a Human Development and Learning undergraduate, is currently student teaching at Power Center Academy in the Hickory Hill neighborhood of Memphis. When asked why she chose the UofM, a few answers were given — proximity to home and affordability being among them — but one reason in particular stood out, and it had to do with her family legacy. Henry is the grandniece of Bertha Looney, one of the Memphis State Eight who were the first to integrate then-Memphis State University in 1959. She wanted to follow in her great-aunt’s footsteps.  

“When I received the email about the award, I was astonished,” Henry said. “I went straight into thanking the Lord, then I messaged my mentor teacher to tell her the good news. After that, I just could not stop smiling, thinking about the award, and just thinking how my hard work paid off."  

Aubrey Montague

Montague, a Teaching All Learners major, student teaches at Richland Elementary in Memphis, with past experiences at Ridgeway Middle and Ridgeway High. She said attending UofM has been an experience she will be able to look back on with pride and that she loves her city. She was surprised by the news of the award but also humbled, stating that if she could share the award with her peers – the student teachers who put in the work just as hard as she does – she would.  

“My reception of the Rumble Award, to me, is a reflection of my mentors, my professors, my loved ones, and the peers who have aided in shaping who I have become as an educator thus far, and who have put their faith in my abilities,” Montague said.   

Henry and Montague plan to teach in elementary school settings after graduation, Henry in kindergarten and Montague with grades 1-4. The awards will officially be presented to the winners at the end of the year celebration, hosted by COE’s Office of Teacher Education and Clinical Practice.  

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