McKee Administration Expands Wavemaker Fellowship Eligibility to Teachers in New Application for Student Loan Reimbursement

Published on Wednesday, January 08, 2025

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Governor Dan McKee and Rhode Island Commerce announce the start of a new application period for the Wavemaker Fellowship, a competitive student loan reimbursement program for professionals working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), certain design fields, healthcare and, for the first time - education. The purpose is to retain their talents in Rhode Island.

The Wavemaker Fellowship awards recent college graduates in the above fields refundable tax credits of up to $6,000 per year for up to four years. 

“Investing in our talented workforce is an investment in the future of our communities,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Incentivizing the best and brightest minds to live and work in Rhode Island helps us take another step toward our goals of building a stronger economy and creating a healthier state for all. I encourage all eligible graduates to take advantage of this fellowship program.”

“The Wavemaker Fellowship has always been a great way to incentivize graduates of in-demand fields to choose to start their career in Rhode Island, but the addition of teachers to the program this year is particularly meaningful. This is an important opportunity to reward those young people who are dedicating their lives to helping the generations following them,” said Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. “Our administration is investing in creating great educational opportunities from Pre-K to postsecondary.”

This year, program eligibility was expanded to teachers, including but not limited to: 

  • classroom educators
  • school counselors 
  • school psychologists 
  • school social workers 
  • speech and language pathologists 
  • school nurse teachers 
  • reading specialists 
  • mathematics specialists 
  • special education teachers 
  • English as a Second Language (ESL) or Bilingual Dual-Language (BDL) instructors 

“Attracting and retaining a talented workforce is a key driver to economic success,” said Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner. “Whether in science and engineering or healthcare and education, our Wavemaker Fellowship allows us to ease the burden of student loan debt to help keep Rhode Island competitive.”

“Rhode Island is a wonderful place to teach and I’m excited that, through the expansion of the Wavemaker Fellowship, educators will now be able to take advantage of a great financial incentive,” said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. “Teaching is an immensely rewarding career where one can make a difference in the lives of countless students. Rhode Island deeply values our education workforce, and we encourage teachers to apply to be a member of the 2025 Wavemaker Fellowship cohort.”  

“The Wavemaker loan program supports affordability of a college degree because postsecondary credentials are essential for most well-paying, full-time jobs,” said R.I. Postsecondary Commissioner Shannon Gilkey, Ed.D. “Allowing graduates some time to get established in their careers here in Rhode Island and start earning before they begin paying back student loans helps Rhode Islanders live and work in our state.”

“The Executive Office of Health and Human Services is dedicated to fostering growth in Rhode Island's healthcare workforce. One way we can do that is by mitigating the burden of educational costs,” said EOHHS Secretary Richard Charest. “It's no secret that our State is home to many high-quality educational institutions and training programs that produce some of the brightest minds in medicine and healthcare. By offering up to four years of annual loan repayments, the Wavemaker Fellowship will help us not only retain but also recruit some of these most promising professionals to start their careers here in the Ocean State. I applaud the Commerce Corporation for opening their fellowship application to healthcare professionals this year for the second time, and I strongly encourage individuals who are starting out in the field to consider applying.”

Applications are due by March 5.

More information, including the application, is available online at wavemaker.commerceri.com. 

 

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