Emily Smith

What year did you graduate from SRU and what was your major?
I graduated from SRU in May 2013 with my Bachelor's in Elementary Education and Special Education and add-on certifications in Middle School Mathematics and Middle School English. After graduation, I obtained my Reading Specialist certification as well.

What jobs have you landed?
A month after I graduated from SRU, I began a long-term position as a K-12 Special Education Instructional Supervisor at a local cyber school. While I did enjoy the job, I found that my heart was in a classroom setting. That August, I accepted a long-term 3rd Grade Learning Support position in a public school district in Beaver County, which was the same district SRU placed me to complete my professional semester my senior year of college. I was very excited to be back teaching in such a great district where I completed my special education field work the year before. I stayed in that long-term position for the 2013-14 school year and then was hired full-time at the middle school in the district as a 6th-8th grade English Language Arts Learning Support Teacher for the 2014-15 school year. It was quite a full-circle experience to teach the same kids again that I taught as a field student two years prior. This year, I chose to move down to a new position in the district as a Kindergarten Learning Support Teacher/Reading Specialist.

How did you prepare for the interview for the job you landed?
Throughout college, I seized every volunteer opportunity offered with children and adolescents to broaden my experiences working with students of different ages and ability levels. I feel like these experiences aided me in getting interviews as well as having talking points during the interviews. Ultimately, these experiences benefited my knowledge of how to help my students once I did land a job.
To prepare for interviews, I looked up commonly asked interview questions, wrote down answers, and then practiced them. I also made a brochure highlighting the successes of the students I worked with, my behavior management techniques, excerpts from reference letters, and positive parent communication. I also presented my interviewers with all reference letters from administrators, teachers, professors, and parents that I worked with.
I feel that an interview is your opportunity to display all of your accomplishments as well as your passion for teaching. It is your opportunity to shine! It's easier said than done, but try not to let your nerves get in the way of excelling during interviewing opportunities.

What have you done well at that job?
I think my positivity has helped my students to achieve their goals. It's so important for me to look at how far my kids have come instead of looking at their shortcomings. There is always room for improvement, but I feel that if I look at how far my kids have come and praise them for that, they will continue to meet with success and make gains.
I think that I communicate well with teachers, service providers, parents, and students. This is key in providing students with the best comprehensive education possible.
My flexibility has also helped me balance the many demands of being an educator. Oftentimes, I am pulled in multiple directions and just have to do the best I can to service my students even when there are multiple tasks at hand.

What types of recognition, awards, honors or even activities have you been involved in?
Throughout my time at SRU, I was involved with many activities through the various organizations I was in. I was a member of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association (S-PSEA), Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education, Lambda Epsilon Delta National Honor Society in Elementary Education, Sigma Pi Epsilon Delta National Special Education Honorary, Council for Exceptional Children, Early Childhood Club, National Science Teacher Association (NSTA), Phi Sigma Pi National Coed Honor Fraternity, Golden Key International Honour Society, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Slippery Rock Lions Club, and volunteered with Exceptional Adventures. I had the opportunity to gain knowledge from Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training, a Classroom Management Workshop, Autism Awareness Conferences, Panel for Disability Pride for Disability Rights Initiating Voices Everywhere (DRIVE), The Prevention Network Family Decision Making Conference, Early Development of Great Educators Conference (EDGE) on Parent Communication and Classroom Technology, Family Violence/Child Abuse VOICE Outreach, Co-teaching Training Workshop, Common Core Training, SMART Board training, and various curriculum trainings.
Some scholarships I was fortunate enough to receive were the Beaver County Chapter of Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees Education Scholarship, the Helen Brua Getting Memorial Scholarship, and the Maree McKay-Esther Smiley Alumni Scholarship.
Some awards I received were the Residence Life Academic All-Star Award for GPAs of 4.0, Dean's List every year, and Phi Sigma Pi National Coed Honorary Fraternity Award for Outstanding Effort as a Recruitment Advisor.

What SRU experience or faculty influenced you and in what way?
My SRU experiences that impacted me the most were my field and student teaching experiences. I loved working with different cooperating teachers and grade levels of students. Each was so unique and opened the door for me to work with various grade levels after graduation. I also enjoyed being involved in many organizations that offered me volunteering experiences.
All of the faculty that I had the fortune of working with influenced me in some way. I cannot say that there was a professor I had who did not impact the educator I have become. Each brought a unique life experience and educational experience to the university that shaped my practices as a future educator.
I was so impressed with SRU that I am currently completing my Master's Degree there for Special Education Supervision. In my opinion, SRU faculty have proven themselves to be second to none.

What else can you tell us about your success story that SRU students could learn from?
I know how discouraging it can be to be told over and over again that there aren't jobs in education, especially in the local area. While there aren't a plethora of teaching jobs in the area, there are still some teaching jobs. Do everything possible now to set yourself apart, and you can find your dream teaching job wherever you want.
Also, the positive relationships you build through field experiences can undoubtedly help you land a job down the road.
Teaching can be stressful, difficult, and at times overwhelming. There are many demands on us that really are far from our control. Nonetheless, there will be so many special moments with your students that will more than make up for all of the hard times. Commit to be the best educator possible for the sake of your students. After all, they really do deserve it. Enjoy the ride!