Meet Dr. Pamela Scott-Bracey
Ever since she could remember Dr. Pamela Scott Bracey has wanted to be in the education field.
“Growing up, instead of dressing up my dolls up, I would play school with them. Everyone knew that if I wanted you to come and play with me, we were going to play school. I was going to be teaching somebody their ABCs or 123s,” Dr. Bracey shares laughingly.
It was no surprise that after graduating from a high school, in her native home of Yazoo City, that she would pursue a degree in education. However, it would be education with a twist. At the encouragement of her 11th grade teacher, Beth Bridges, Dr. Bracey enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi and majored in Business Technology Education.
“I’ve told Pam a million times that she gives me far too much credit,” shares Beth, who is now retired. “ Pam was a shining star from the beginning. By her personality, her demeanor, the way she was raised, what was instilled in her to never sell herself short and always do her best...she would have been at the top no matter what field she majored in.”
“When you’re gifted at a young age, you’re really versatile and many times you don’t really know what you’re good at because you have so many things going on in your mind. That’s why many gifted kids don’t thrive as adults. They don’t have anyone to help you hone your skills,” Dr. Bracey said. “Mrs. Beth Bridges did that for me by introducing me the field of business and computer technology.”
By the time Dr. Bracey was 30-years- old she had already earned her bachelors from the University of Southern Mississippi, a masters from Mississippi College and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of North Texas.
The wife and mother of two boys spend her formative years as a video arts teacher at Clinton Junior High School. In 2013 she joined the Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development at Mississippi State University (MSU) where she also serves as the Director and Co-founder of MSU’s Global Academic Essentials Teacher Institute (GAETI).
GAETI is a four-week summer institute designed to help equip teachers with strategies and tools necessary for successful integration of MS College & Career Ready Standards, 21st century skills, and technology. Since its inception, GAETI has awarded more than $500,000 in resources and funding for training and development of Mississippi teachers.
“When I wrote the grant proposal for GAETI, I wrote it from the space of when I was a K12 teacher,” Dr. Bracey said. “I knew the needs of K12, how much professional development was needed and wanted. So I was excited about developing a teacher institute.”
As president and CEO of Urbane Enterprises LLC consulting firm, Dr. Bracey has helped several non-profit organizations secure more than $1.2 million in federal and state level funding. She’s was awarded Mississippi’s Outstanding University Business Educator of the Year for two consecutive years (2013, 2014), received the 2018 Mississippi Excellence in Higher Education Award from the Mississippi Association of Educators and was named the regional Collegiate Educator of the Year by the Southern Business Education Association (2017).
“I am extremely passionate about my career as an educator, excited about my current role in academia within the post-secondary arena and look forward to changing many more lives by engaging many more minds for years to come.”