Longtime popular Chatham County teacher surprised with scholarship in her name
The annual Future Farmers of America banquet has become a can’t-miss event every May at Seaforth High School in Pittsboro.
Why? Because long-time agriculture teacher Gale Wells-Brickhouse hosts it.
“You hear her before you meet her. She is a presence, a loud presence at the school and has a ton of personality,” said friend and Seaforth school counselor Lindsay Phillips. “She loves her students fiercely, and she would do anything for them.”
But Brickhouse is particular about the FFA banquet, tightly scheduling and scripting the event so she can honor her students properly in a formal setting.
However, the 2024 gala kicked off with an unscripted surprise from Phillips.
“I’m looking at her, pressing my fingers on my watch, like, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing? Stay on script,’” Brickhouse remembered.
What Brickhouse never expected was for Phillips to announce the creation of the Gale Wells-Brickhouse Agricultural Studies Scholarship, a designated scholarship funded by an anonymous donor through the North Carolina Community Foundation.
“It was the first time I’ve ever been rendered speechless, because I’m a talker,” Brickhouse said. “I cried all the way home that night. I had to pull off to the side of the road.”
Brickhouse has taught agriculture her entire career, a tenure that spans 34 years across six North Carolina high schools. She started teaching at Seaforth when the Chatham County school opened in 2021.
“From the day we opened the door, her classes have always been ones that have huge waiting lists, not because necessarily (students) are interested in agriculture, but because they want to be in her class. She is that amazing of a teacher,” Phillips said. “I am a firm believer that education is a calling. It’s not a job, and she epitomizes that.”
Brickhouse has many monikers at Seaforth: “auntie,” “Mama Brick” or simply “Brick.” Hers is the first face most students see in the morning when they get off the bus and arrive on campus. If they forget anything, Brickhouse always has her classroom filled with snacks, water, extra clothes, toiletries and school supplies.
“I guess I am kind of Mama,” Brickhouse said. “I’m just there for the kids … but they know we have a safe space here.”
Brickhouse had planned to retire last May, but when one of her top students asked Brickhouse to stay for the student’s senior year, she agreed.
That means Brickhouse will cap off her career this spring by honoring the first winner of the scholarship that bears her name. “I get to get my flowers while I’m still living, which is good to know that somebody appreciates all the hard work,” she said. “I’m still flabbergasted.”
In retirement, Brickhouse plans to play an active role on the scholarship committee, which will grant annually to Seaforth seniors graduating with a minimum weighted GPA of 2.5 and at least two years membership in FFA or the completion of at least two agricultural studies courses with a preference for students with financial need.
The donor expressed their gratitude to NCCF for the ease of creating the scholarship while being able to remain anonymous, and Phillips echoed that appreciation. “Working with (NCCF) has been a dream,” she said. “It was super easy, super quick. We were able to set it up and recognize her within a week’s time.”