Kristina Kocis

What year did you graduate from SRU and what was your major?
I graduated in the Spring of 2013 with Elementary Education (K-6) and a minor in Exceptionalities.
What jobs have you landed?
 Immediately following graduation, I was hired at Moon Area School District as a 4th grade teacher at the age of 21.

How did you prepare for the interview for the job you landed?
 My experience as a student teacher in the district definitely helped me advance far in the interview process because I had a chance to get to know a lot about the school. Having family members and family friends coach me through a number of mock interviews using the most frequently asked questions from the internet also helped prepare me for the interviews. The more comfortable you are speaking in front of people and responding to scenario-type questions on your toes, the better off you will be in any interview.

What have you done well at that job?
 This is currently my 3rd year teaching in the Moon Area School District. I absolutely love my job, my students, and the wonderful people I get the pleasure of working with each day. Our staff is amazing and we are doing some really great things in Moon! The shift to the PA Core leads to higher expectations from both students and teachers. I feel that I have progressed my teaching with each year as I gain more experience. Hard work, passion, dedication, organization, and going the extra mile are some qualities that all good teachers I know share.

What types of recognition, awards, honors or even activities have you been involved in?
 During my time at MASD, I have been involved in many school activities, but to name a few - hosting an after-school remediation program, coordinating our elementary talent show, breakfast monitoring, field days, McTeachers night, Backpack programs, and Read-a-Thon night. Our school will also be receiving recognition for becoming a Blue Ribbon School and I could not be more proud to be a part of the great things that go on at McCormick Elementary each and every day.

What SRU experience or faculty influenced you and in what way?
 Getting involved with as many on and off campus activities as possible made my time at SRU so memorable. Academically, my College of Ed Block 2 and 3 professors influenced me greatly. Being a part of a PDS school like Sharon for Block 3 really helped me gain some good experience at a young age as we had the change to work with children a few times per week after our on-site classes. One professor in particular made a difference in my college education in 2013, and again today as I have the pleasure of working with her in my Reading Specialist / Instruction Literacy Coaching graduate program at SRU. If you have the opportunity to get to know Dr. DuPont, I am certain she will touch your life the way she touched mine.

What else can you tell us about your success story that SRU students could learn from?
 I just want to stress to future educators the importance of what they do. Enter this field because you have a passion for changing the lives of children. Stick with it. Get involved. Make a difference. And most importantly, never give up on getting the job of your dreams. Timing is everything. Choose a school to student teach in that is in an area that you could see yourself living and working in. Make your job your passion and you will never work a day in your life! Best of luck to all of the future SRU Educators. Represent THE ROCK well and be PROUD of your alma mater!