Laura S. Kerbaugh, a first year Ed.D. in educational leadership student, recently received the 2025 Dr. Amy Lee Parker Endowed Scholarship. Each year, the Winchester Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) awards this scholarship to a woman in graduate school in the Shenandoah University Department of Leadership Studies. The award goes toward spring tuition.
A current teacher with Prince William County Public Schools, Kerbaugh has 17 years of experience in elementary education. She is deeply committed to the growth and development of students and mentoring teachers. She chose to pursue her doctoral degree at Shenandoah to gain more experience and a deeper understanding of educational leadership and how organizational structures impact teacher attrition.
“Being a lifelong learner, I have always had a dream of doing my Ed.D., so when the time was right, I immediately knew it would be with Shenandoah,” Kerbaugh said. “Once I receive my doctoral degree, it is my hope that I will be able to take what I have learned in the educational leadership program at Shenandoah University and continue to make a positive impact in the world.”
This is the fifth year that the Dr. Amy Lee Parker Endowed Scholarship has been awarded. Dr. Parker left the Winchester Branch a generous endowment at the time of her death for the purpose of supporting women in educational leadership.
Parker was a leader whose passion for children and education became her lifelong focus. In addition to her position as principal in a local school, she had a passion for women’s influential role in education. She encouraged women to pursue leadership and education simultaneously. This passion was demonstrated also by her involvement in the Winchester Branch of AAUW, where she took a guiding role in events and forums to promote women’s leadership in education. Parker received her Ed.D. in Administrative Leadership from Shenandoah in 2014, and her dissertation research reflected her dedication to teachers’ professional growth.
