Kayla Moio

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I earned my bachelor’s degree from SRU in 2021 in Early Childhood/Elementary Education and Special Education. I am currently completing a graduate assistantship that allows me to be an assistant teacher in a preschool classroom at the SRU/SGA Preschool and Child Care Center. While teaching preschool, I am finishing the Reading Specialist Master’s program and am due to graduate this December! 

2. Name one SRU experience, in general, or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

I will never forget my undergrad and current years working at the Child Care Center on campus. I have grown as a student and educator by having the opportunity for practical application of the skills I was learning in my classes. Working in both roles as a student worker, and now as a mentor to the student workers has positively shaped my appreciation for the leadership, teamwork, and passion it takes to be a teacher. It has been such a rewarding experience that I will forever be grateful for. 

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

Dr. Walsh has been my professor for quite a few classes in my undergraduate and graduate programs. With each class, I gained more and more knowledge and found a love for teaching literacy to young students. She is knowledgeable in her field and always kind, encouraging, and supportive, which always made for enriching learning experiences in her classes. 


4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

Growing up in a family of teachers, education was highly valued in our household. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and make a positive impact on the lives of young learners. 

5. What do you love most about teaching?

There’s a lot to love about teaching, but what I love most is knowing I am playing a part in building a strong foundation for my preschoolers as they prepare for elementary school and their life ahead. The lessons in preschool go beyond reading, writing, and counting, and it is so rewarding to watch my students grow into their roles as kind, caring members of our classroom community along with all of the academic progress they will make throughout the year. 

6. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is a role model, a mentor, dedicated, persistent, flexible, reflective, and passionate about what they do. It is more than a job, it is a pursuit to create a better world around us by educating and empowering our students to be well-rounded and conscientious individuals, and a great teacher recognizes and pours into that.

 

Rachael Hughes

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2021 earning my bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education. Currently, I teach first grade at Center Grange Primary School in the Central Valley School District.  I am teaching in my home district that helped shape who I am today!  Prior to teaching first grade, I taught K-2 Learning and Emotional Support in the Ambridge Area School District.

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

I’ll never forget the dedicated professors I’ve had during my undergrad and the hands-on experience I gained during my time at SRU!

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

Dr. Jessica Hall-Wirth helped make my transition from community college to Slippery Rock as seamless as possible. She was a patient and supportive advisor who truly helped guide me in the perfect direction of my educator journey. I will never forget how dedicated she was, and still is, to her students!

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

I have always had such a strong desire to give back and help others, especially young children.  I truly felt the positive impact that teachers had on my own life, and I knew that I wanted to be part of that same impact.

5. What do you love most about teaching?

I love the joy and fulfillment that teaching brings me.  I love the excitement and energy that my first graders have about school. Watching my students learn and grow has been so wonderful for me, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the school year brings to every one of my kiddos!

6. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher understands that building a strong classroom foundation begins with creating relationships and valuing the uniqueness of each child.  Curriculum and learning are incredibly important for each child but connecting with their teacher and having a safe learning environment is most important!

Catherine Eakin

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I went to SRU for all four years of undergrad. After graduation, I worked at a preschool for a little over a year as an assistant teacher. I am currently a long-term substitute in a second-grade classroom! It’s so much fun and I love being able to do what I’m passionate about. My next step is my own classroom!

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

I will also never forget my student teaching experience; it truly confirmed that teaching is my passion. That group of kiddos will always stay dear to my heart.

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

Dr. Sara Tours, my advisor. She really helped me navigate through my classes at SRU!

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

I originally started at SRU as a hospitality management major; but after the first semester of freshman year I realized it wasn’t what I was meant to do. I was having a hard time figuring it out so I looked through the list of majors and the only one that stood out was Early Childhood Education. I still wasn’t sure so I slept on it. I had a dream that night that I had my own classroom and my passion

for teaching has only grown since.

5. What do you love most about teaching?

I love making a difference in these children’s lives. Seeing their face light up when they realize we are learning about something they like or they see they did better on a test or their grade go up reminds me of why I want to teach. Getting to know the kiddos and have fun while teaching them is my favorite part.

6. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is one that is passionate about what they do, makes learning fun, and makes an impact on every child that walks into their classroom.

 

Jordan Hare

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, Social Studies with a minor in European History and a certification in Applied History. Upon graduation from Slippery Rock in Spring of 2021 I spent some time as a substitute teacher at Bethel Park High School filling in day to day as needed. Within a month of graduating I accepted a full time teaching position at Boonsboro High School in Boonsboro, Maryland for the 2021-2022 school year and I have just begun my second year there. During my first year I taught 9th grade US Studies II and 11th and 12th grade World History and this year I have continued with US Studies II and also teach 10th grade Government.

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

I will definitely never forget getting to teach my first lesson in front of a classroom of high school students. I was fortunate enough to get to work with Dr. Bill Bergmann as a part of the Humanities Ladder Spring of my Sophomore year. He very kindly gave me the opportunity to teach one of our lessons completely on my own. It was terrifying, especially because I was still a long way off from student teaching and felt like I didn’t know what I was doing yet. However, it was also the moment that solidified for me that I definitely wanted to be a teacher and that this career truly was and is my passion. I still consider those students to be my “first class” and I’m forever thankful to Dr. Bergmann for taking a chance and giving me that opportunity. 

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

Picking just one is too difficult, honestly there were so many that had a positive influence. So I’m going to bend the rules just a bit and mention a few. First, Dr. Aaron Cowan who was the first professor to introduce me to Reacting to the Past and got me hooked on it. I’m even working on getting a grant to bring it to my school! He also helped me to be able to complete my Applied History Certification and has even helped me a few times post graduation when I reached out about using some resources in my own classroom. He’s motivated me to really strive to be a great teacher and there’s a lot of my teaching style today that I have him to thank for. I also have to mention Dr. Paula Rieder who I got to spend time with both as a student and as a student mentor. Her classes were an absolute blast as she’s an amazing teacher who really knows her stuff and gets you invested in it. I was fortunate enough to get to work in a few classes with her as a student mentor and it was one of my favorite experiences to have. She was wonderful to work with and really helped me to develop a deeper passion for history. Finally, Dr. Becky Thomas cannot go without a mention. She was the professor who traveled with us during a service learning trip in 2019 to Puerto Rico. During our time there, she opened my eyes to the world of interpretation and how what I was already doing could be applied in national parks and in museums. She inspired me to get my certification as a National Interpretive Guide - and now I volunteer at a local museum putting that certification to use. Dr. Thomas opened up a whole new field of history for me and I’m so grateful for that. 

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

For me, it was my dad. He’s also a history teacher and so I grew up with an appreciation for history and for education. Plus, when the time came I even got to have him as a teacher for AP US History when I reached high school which was definitely a cool experience. I’m very lucky that I got to grow up surrounded by educators and that I got to see a lot of sides to education that I think a lot of people don’t always get to look at until they’re in the classroom. He was such an inspiration for me growing up, and still is. I’m honestly not sure that I would have gone down this path if it wasn’t for the example that he set for me. It’s great that now we get to talk about our classroom experiences with each other, it feels like things have really come full circle.

5. What do you love most about teaching?

My students! I absolutely love the students that I get to teach for a few different reasons. Since I mostly work with freshmen and sophomores, there’s a lot of growth that happens over the course of those years. I love getting to be a part of watching those students grow and improve over the course of a year and love getting to be a part of their success. Plus, they crack me up. There’s not a single day that goes by where my students don’t make me laugh at least once. They definitely make teaching awesome!

6. What makes a great teacher?

I think a great teacher is someone who really takes the time to get to know their students and to build a community in their classroom. Those relationships are so important and can really set the course for the year. It’s important to know your content, to be prepared, to be able to be flexible, and all of those things also contribute to being a great teacher. But if you don’t have a relationship with your students where they feel they can take risks, aren't afraid to be wrong, and they know they’re in a welcoming environment then it can be difficult to really have an impact.