Rachael Mott ’09
Welcoming Community
More than anything, I loved the supportive environment at ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ â€” a fact I appreciate more than ever after spending a graduate year at a large university. I was not just a number at ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ â€” I am still not a number at ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ. Everyone in the English and Education Departments not only knew everyone else, but took an interest in their progress, and this goes for faculty as well as students. I still email back and forth with a number of my fellow English and Education majors and professors and hope to continue doing so.
If I wanted to study something and there wasn't a class available, the faculty helped me design an independent study. I had a particularly memorable one working on Shakespeare. It was an encouraging and motivating environment to say the very least!
Hands-on Learning
Of all my experiences at ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ, I have no doubt that my student teaching experience during my final semester was the most valuable. I was able to bring together all that I had learned from both of my majors and put that knowledge to work in a setting that ended up being very like my real-life work environment, but with all the support I needed to ensure my continued progress and success.