Education Major Day is coming up on Saturday, October 8, and if you’re even thinking about teaching, you won’t want to miss this.
Take it from Molly…
One of the questions that I have run into most as a student at Grove City College is: “So, Molly, why did you choose to come to Grove City?” My answer is simple: I was looking for a school that’s close to home and one that has an Education Department with an outstanding reputation.
Current Senior Education Major, Molly Moses
I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher. In fact, my mom still has a little booklet that I made in Kindergarten to prove it. On one of the pages in the “When I Grow Up” section I messily scrawled, using very inventive language, that I would like to be a teacher.
As a high school senior, I was invited to Grove City for an event called Education Major Day. My parents and I were welcomed on a Saturday morning by so many smiling faces. The morning began with a warm welcome from Dr. Nichols, the department chair, short speeches from faculty and students, and then we were given a tour around the specific facilities in place for Ed. majors such as the Early Education Center and the Curriculum Library. The warm welcome I received on Education Major Day is something I have not forgotten nor something that has wavered as my time as a student. Education Major Day provided me with a feel for what it would be like to be a student and Ed. major at Grove City College. I was also able to catch a glimpse of what kinds of classes I would be taking if I decided to pursue the path of an Ed. major at GCC.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT
Four years later as a Senior at Grove City, I can say that the Education Department has had one of the most significant impacts on me as a student. To this day, professors that I had my freshman year, remember me and greet me by name. The Education faculty are so caring and are truly concerned about their students on both an academic and personal level. My closest friends on campus are fellow Ed. majors. We always joke that we just “get” each other on a level that others do not. It is a really unique opportunity to be surrounded by so many who share the same passion for teaching, learning, and serving children.
On a personal level, I can say that I have truly appreciated how the Education Department faculty have helped me to foster the calling that I feel from God to teach. I love that the professors teaching me share in my excitement for serving children. We are all working together to further the kingdom of God through teaching and learning.
Advice for visiting campus from current student, Julianna Joseph
1. Don’t try to fit too much in. As the old adage goes, choose quality over quantity. Rather than writing down a million little notes while you’re here (a terrible mistake I made during college visits!) you should just enjoy talking to people and getting to know them. If you’d like, ask people you meet on campus for their email addresses so you can ask them any extra questions you think of when you get home. Don’t worry, we won’t be weird-ed out! We’ve all been where you are right now.
2. Spend some time in the Curriculum Library in the afternoon. Students will be there who are excited to talk to you about activities they do on campus and super cool opportunities that they have had through the Education Department. Ask them the questions that you are really burning to ask about college—I promise they’ll be honest with you.
3. Ditch your family—if only for a bit! What I’ve found from my own visit and from prospective students who have spoken to me is that parents can sometimes be a hindrance to students finding out what is most important to them. Parents and students want to know different things, and sometimes parents take over the conversation. Break away from your parents for a bit and get the questions asked that you care about. When you come back together, you’ll have received twice as much information and both parties will have learned what is most important to them.
4. Have an open mind. By the time I visited Grove City, I already had five or six college visits under my belt. I felt like I had seen everything that a “small, private Christian college” could offer me: a pretty campus, a deep sense of community, and small class sizes. But Grove City College is so much more than a pithy tagline. While you’re here, be open to everything that makes us different.