USCB History Grad Recognized as Outstanding Educator by UChicago
Mary Katherine Schramm in the classroom.USCB alumna and Hilton Head Island native Mary Katherine Schramm (B.A. History, Class of 2016) has been recognized with the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator award, after being nominated for the honor by a former student.
She is a Social Studies teacher at May River High School in Bluffton and was “totally surprised” by the award.
“I had just gotten home after an admittedly very difficult week at school. When I received the news that I had received this award, it was such a happy and humbling moment that instantly reminded me why I love my job,” she said.
UChicago gives newly admitted students the opportunity to recognize teachers who have made a difference in their lives. Thomas Hughson, a UChicago freshman who Mary Katherine taught at Hilton Head Island High School several years ago, submitted the winning response.
“You are the smartest person I have ever met, and not only that, but you taught in a way that made me fully realize my passion for history and throwing myself into learning. AP World History remains my favorite class I have ever taken, and it is the reason I will be pursuing a focus on history or something history-related (like archeology),” he wrote in his submission.
At the time she was Tommy Hughson’s teacher, Mary Katherine had just finished her bachelor’s degree at USCB and was only 20 years old. Teaching at her own high school when she was barely older than her students was not something she ever expected to do. That year, she was Beaufort County School District youngest teacher, having graduated from Head Island High School when she was just 16. Her speedy and unusual journey through high school included enrolling simultaneously in person and online.
“I was taking, I think, 11 high school courses at one time,” she said. “I love learning, and I was really eager to finish high school and get to college.”
Mary Katherine graduated from USCB planning to look for work at a museum or other applied history organization, but when she got a call from Hilton Head Island High School asking her to fill in for a history teacher who was going on leave, her destiny took another turn. The temporary position turned into a full-time, permanent opportunity, and Mary Katherine was able to earn her teaching certificate quickly through South Carolina’s Program for Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE).
She transferred from Hilton Head Island High School to May River in 2019. There she teaches AP World History, AP European History, IB U.S. History and Foreign Policy, as well as acting as faculty advisor for the school’s Model United Nations Program and Academic World Quest Team. Her students enjoy her dynamic lessons, including a recent geopolitical crisis simulation where Mary Katherine sorted her class into groups by country, and students had to use information they learned about each country’s resources to solve a crisis. The role-playing scenario taught them how difficult foreign policy can be, but also how to cooperate and negotiate.
Mary Katherine remembers her time at USCB as transformative. She was an active student leader who interned at U.S. Representative Mark Sanford’s (R-SC) office and was president of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society.
“I started college very young and the faculty at USCB —shoutout to Dr. Landrum, Dr. James, and Dr. Morris— really helped my find my spark for history. USCB taught me to always be the best version of yourself possible, and that your attitude and effort are driving forces of your success,” she said.