Longtime Southington High School Teacher Establishes Scholarship

Longtime Southington High School science teacher Nellie Shepard has established a scholarship fund through the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain that will help a Southington High School student pursue a college education in the sciences.

Shepard spent 30 years teaching physics and chemistry at the high school before retiring in 1989.

“You know, I never had children, so my students were my children and I had just the best kids in the world,” Shepard said in a release.

The first scholarship will be awarded in 2015 to a student who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, materials science, physics, astronomy, earth science or interdisciplinary studies in natural science.

Shepard was raised in Southington by her mother Mary, who was also a teacher. Nellie Shepard went on to study at the Teacher’s College in New Britain, which is now Central Connecticut State University. She took up graduate studies at Wesleyan University and did post-graduate work at St. Joseph’s College, which is now St. Joseph’s University.

Among Shepard’s many students over the years is Dr. Taft Armandroff, a well-known research astronomer who is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and director of the University’s McDonald Observatory.Students interested in applying for the Nellie F. Shepard Scholarship are advised to contact the Southington High School Guidance Office.

The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain has been connecting donors and causes in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington since 1941.

Photo provided by Community Foundation of Greater New Britain: Former Southington High School science teacher Nellie Shepard of Southington, with her companion and pet therapy dog Jac, has established the Nellie F. Shepard Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a Southington High School student or students pursuing studies in the sciences.