My education has always been one of my top priorities. I knew I always wanted to come to CMU, and I’ve also always wanted to become a teacher. CMU is the perfect fit for me for many reasons, but one of the best is that they have an amazing teacher education program that really helps students get to where they want to be along with preparing them to educate and help students all over the nation.
Elementary Education
As I mentioned before, for as far back as I can remember, I have always wanted to be an elementary teacher. I have never even seriously considered any other areas of study. I am very grateful and fortunate that CMU has an outstanding teacher education program. Over the past few summers, I have spent almost every day babysitting. There’s definitely an age range in the kids that I babysit, which has shown me that I definitely want to pursue a degree in elementary education rather than secondary education. I love the days spent with the kids and although I know that babysitting isn’t necessarily anything like teaching, it at least set me up with the basis of knowing which age level I want to teach. My senior year of high school I took a class that allowed me to work in a second-grade classroom three days a week while the other two days were spent learning about various aspects of being a teacher. I absolutely loved the class and it reassured me that elementary education is definitely the perfect major for me!
Leadership
The Leadership Institute at CMU is known for its outstanding achievements and ability to help form some of the best leaders in our communities today. This minor provides me with more knowledge on the topic of leadership, my personal leadership style and ways to effectively apply it in my life. It also provides me with opportunities to experience and work through different scenarios where my leadership may be needed, as well as prepares me for the real world. This minor will also help me be prepared for life as a teacher.
Samantha McDonald 