A Love for Education
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that almost 50% of teachers leave within the first five years, and that statistic is something I saw a lot of within the past few years. There have been times when I've considered finding an alternative, but when it comes down to it, I want to be an educator and I want to be around students. I don't know if I'll stay in the classroom for the next twenty or so years, but I know that I want to remain in education. I want to support more students along their academic journey, whether that is with elementary students learning to read or collegiate clinical students getting ready to lead their own classrooms.
"Coming Home" for Graduate School
Mount Union has been a second home for my entire life- I have been on campus attending football games and going to my dad's classes in Chapman Hall since the mid 1990s. Students in his classes were my babysitters, and we attended many on-campus events together as a family, like the International Dinner and service activities. However, after graduating from Clemson University with my master's degree in Literacy, I assumed my graduate studies would be over but something called me back to campus again. I knew that I would eventually want my principal's license, and that there was no where I would rather study again that at Mount Union. I credit a lot of my skills - professional and personal, to my time spent on campus at Mount Union.
Favorite Part of Being a Teacher
I love being an educator, and having such an impact on children. I love learning alongside them, and seeing things from their perspective is so fun. I think if I'm counting right, by now I've had almost 300 students which is amazing to think about. My first class of second graders are in high school and starting to find me on social media to reach out and give me updates on their lives. Additionally, I love teaching in Alliance City Schools. When I was moving back to Ohio, I had actually accepted a job elsewhere and gave that up to come to Alliance and am so thankful that plan unfolded the way it did.