Ashley Dugaw

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held?

I graduated from the Early Childhood and Special Education program at Slippery Rock University. I knew I wanted to go into this field because I loved to work with kids at various summer camps in high school. While I was attending college, I worked in the SRU/SGA Preschool on campus for three years. I LOVED working at the preschool not only because of the children but because of the staff that works there as well. The summer right after I graduated college, I was given the opportunity to be the Head Teacher during the summer program at the preschool. This was an amazing opportunity that allowed me to get hired for the job I have now. I am currently a Kindergarten Teacher at Byrns Darden Elementary school in Clarksville, Tennessee and wouldn’t trade it for the world!

2. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

Being a first year teacher, it is so easy to get bogged down with all of the little kinks that need worked out, the stress of making sure your students are learning, making sure you are prepared for your observations and getting ready for your team meetings but when that student who is struggling to learn content finally gets it, I would say that is the most rewarding aspect and makes you forget about all of the other things that come with the job. To see how happy and proud they are of themself is amazing. You feel this warmth deep down because all of your hard work is paying off and that student can finally feel confidence in themself that they can achieve anything! 

3. What advice would you give to current students who are enrolled in the teacher preparation program, and to SRU students generally?

Some advice I would give is SRU students is to not worry about the future and what’s in store for you. You will get those interviews; those offers and you will get that job that you are dreaming of. Don’t worry about the things that you cannot control. If you are prepared, confident and ready for the further everything will work out! You are WAY more prepared than you think that you are! Just have the confidence that you can do this because you can!

4. Name an SRU experience or faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

While attending SRU, I had many influential professors that reassured me that education was the field that I wanted to be in. Even though all of the professors are amazing in the education department, there are two that come to the top of my mind. Dr. McCollin was one of the most influential people I have ever met in my life. Her classes were ones that I looked forward going to every day. She taught me that I don’t have to go by the book with not only teaching, but everything that I do. She taught me that when a student needs you, they really need you and it is okay to take that time to be there for them. She also taught me to advocate for every student that comes into my life because they deserve to get the best education possible. I had Dr. Hilton for only one class throughout my college career. As much as I loved his class and listening to his lectures, his advice came to me when I moved to Tennessee. I was reading the SRU newsletter and there was a section on advice from professors. Dr. Hilton’s advice was to never mix home and work life. If you have to come in early or stay late, do that but don’t take work home. That was the best advice I could’ve read as a new teacher because as a new teacher, you want everything to be perfect and that made me realize, not everything has to be perfect.

5. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is someone who takes the time to get to know their students. It is so important to make a connection with every single student that is in your room. Even that one student that disrupts your teaching every day. That student is the one that needs your attention and connection the most. When students feel that you care about them and love them, they like coming to school and trying their hardest. Students can do anything that they put their minds to and they really can change this world. It all starts with you and how you treat them. If you don’t care how they do in your class or how their home-life is, they will feel that. If you love them and care about them and how they are doing, they will feel that too! You don’t know what a student is going home to or what they had to go through to get to school. Make their time with you the best part of their day!