1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held?
I have two Associates Degrees from Warren County Community College in Education and Criminal Justice. Once I finished at my local community college, I attended Slippery Rock from Spring of 2017 to Spring of 2019 where I majored in Elementary Education Pk-4 and minored in Instructional Strategies. After graduating, it took me a little while to find a job, but when I began teaching I was a Second Grade Instructional Support Teacher at Lehigh Valley Academy, a charter school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I was there for a majority of the 2019-2020 school year until I left in the beginning of March to take a leave of absence in a Preschool classroom within my home district in New Jersey. I was the Preschool teacher at Belvidere Elementary School from the week prior to the pandemic, until the school year ended. Throughout the summer I helped continue the food program where needy students could still receive school lunches while we were on our vacation. I kept searching and applying for any jobs that I was qualified for until I came across one at one of the other schools within our district. It was actually a job I had applied for a year earlier and been passed over on after making it through two rounds of interviews so I knew this time would be different. About 2 weeks before the 2020-2021 school year began I was hired as the Kindergarten teacher at Harmony Township Elementary School, all of my hard work and determination had finally begun to come together.
2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.
One of the great things about being a transfer student after having finished an associate's was that by the time I got to SRU, I had mainly core classes directly related to my major. I was just so excited to be there, and continuing my education I really absorbed everything as much as I could. I would say that my last semester or two before student teaching were probably the most impactful semesters out of all of my semesters in college. During those periods of time, my professors really pushed us and helped us transition from student to teacher while we were still the student. Some professors really pushed us outside of our comfort zones and let us become the teachers we wanted to be based on what we were learning. I cannot tell you how much I use the experiences I had at Slippery Rock on a daily basis. I am constantly reflecting and circling back to teaching methods I learned from SRU, and I am so grateful for it.
3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.
As soon as I stepped foot on Slippery Rock's campus Dr. Vetere helped me realize that I had made the right decision. I can remember sitting in her office on the first day of classes, without a schedule, five hours from anyone I knew, I had just moved away from home for the first time ever, and it all came about in less than five days and I was just feeling kind of scared and lost. I sat on her blue couch and she helped me get a schedule, discussed the layout of my time there in semesters, and she made sure to fill me in on where the best shopping was and food in town, I left her office with a whole new feeling and was ready to go start my first semester. Throughout my time at SRU I can remember begging Dr. Vetere to just wait to retire until I graduate so that I wouldn't have to even think about being without one of my favorite mentors. Whenever I achieve anything within my education career I always am most excited to share it with her.
A professor that really made an impact on my college career was Dr. Lynch. I had him the semester before student teaching, and I wish I had had him earlier in my college career so that I could have taken more of his classes. He was very honest and made class so fun, but most importantly, it was so purposeful. He had clear expectations and had super creative ways of achieving them on a daily basis. One of the things that I think I appreciated the most about him was his realness in making real-life connections to us outside of the 4 walls of our classrooms. I find myself reflecting on some of his lessons the most, and a majority of the time that I find myself reflecting on them it isn't when I am in my classroom, it is during just everyday life. I think that is how you know when someone has really made an impact on you, especially a professor.
4. What initially peaked your interest in pursuing a degree in education?
I always knew that I wanted to work with children, I just wasn't quite sure what I wanted that to look like. During my second semester at community college, I was talking to a friend who was in the education program there and we were talking about our futures and plans and it was her who suggested to me that I become a teacher. After she made that suggestion, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The more that I had thought about it, the more I realized by not being a teacher, I was fighting my calling. Once I switched my major and enrolled in the classes, I never looked back or ever second-guessed it. Even throughout the uncertain time after graduation when I could not find a job, I held onto the fact that I knew this is what I was made to do. If I just stuck it out and kept persevering, I would eventually land myself where I needed to be.
5. What do you love most about teaching?
I think one of the things that I love most about teaching is that you get to make an impact on your students every day, for as long as you are a teacher. Every day is new and teaching can be so unexpected no matter how much you plan. It keeps you on your toes and allows you to try new things out frequently, as long as you just try them. I love the inquisitive nature of my students and their ability to turn my day around with a silly question or statement. Being a first-year teacher during the pandemic is something I was not prepared for, but my love for teaching never wavered despite all the learning curves and challenges thrown my way.
6. What makes a great teacher?
A great teacher is someone who is passionate, determined, dedicated, and is willing to preserve against challenges that are thrown their way. A great teacher can adapt lessons when something isn't going their way and makes the necessary adjustments to try to get the objective across in a more relatable way. There is no one way to define a great teacher but if the teacher is not passionate about what they do, the students will definitely take notice and no one will be getting a positive experience.
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