1. What made you want to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps?
In high school I admired how our school’s administration and faculty were constantly innovating the student experience. Over time, I became aware of how people-centric the education industry was. I knew that I wanted to spend my career in education. I wanted to work in a place that was committed to providing quality education and constantly improving. Last fall, I was looking at another alternate route program when I was looking at the UM School of Education site and stumbled on the MTC site. MTC seemed like the perfect fit―an alternate route program in Mississippi that is focused on producing professional educators.
2. You were highly involved in student government during your undergraduate years, even serving as Student Body President at UAH. How have you gotten involved in Greenwood so far?
I’ve been very thankful to get plugged into Westminster Presbyterian Church here in Greenwood. Even on the toughest weeks at school, it means the world to have a built in support system through the church. It’s also so important to have a place to go where I can commune with people outside of the teacher-world and focus on spiritual renewal and growth. Additionally, I’m on the usher team this month, and I have had a lot of fun doing something service-related that was not related to teaching.
I’ve also joined the Greenwood-Leflore Young Professionals. We had a Christmas party in December and I appreciated meeting other people in my age range that live in town. Finally, maybe this doesn’t count, but I subscribed to the Greenwood Commonwealth in October, and reading the paper every day makes me feel more like a part of the community.
3. If you would, talk about the friends you've made in the cohort so far, and how that's helped you become a better teacher.
It would be impossible to make it through the MTC experience without the support of my peers. During Summer School, we planned together and drew inspiration from each other’s lessons. Now that we are in the school year, we share anecdotes from our classrooms and we lean on one another through struggles and successes. I am more confident in my failures as a teacher because I know that I can ask my friends for suggestions from their classrooms.
4. How have you improved as a teacher from the summer all the way up to right now?
The biggest single improvement that I have made is that I am able to improvise more effectively. Also, during summer school, I took forever to plan solid lessons. Now I am considerably more efficient. Quality lessons still take time, but not as much time as before. Those are the highlights, but something that I love about teaching is that I am constantly learning how to improve my craft. I improve my classroom every week. The thing that drew me to education initially is that educational institutions allow for the growth of all involved. I am very thankful to be living that reality.
