Corrie Lusch
Senior, Early Childhood Education
Murray, Nebraska
“I attended a very small all girls’ Catholic high school. When I graduated in 2006, I attended Creighton University. I felt like the school was so big and there were so many students that I was lost in the crowd. I took a few years off before I decided to go back and complete my degree. I was drawn to College of Saint Mary because of the small class sizes. The fact that it is a women’s college and Catholic were also factors to me because it is what I know and love.
After I became a mother I realized how much I enjoyed being around children and watching them learn and discover things. I knew I wanted to be a part of that process and facilitate children’s learning. To me there is no greater feeling than watching as the ‘light bulb’ goes off and you know you have taught a child something they will use for the rest of his/her life.
That’s why I am earning my bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Special Education. I would like to be a classroom teacher in the range of preschool to third grade. Younger students have such a sense of wonder and excitement and are so eager to learn. Working with them keeps me energetic and on my toes! Preschool and kindergarten teachers are especially on the ‘front lines’ and are so crucial to setting the stage for students’ future learning.
My professors in the education department are great. They are all very knowledgeable and talented teachers. They take the time to get to know each of us as individuals and build relationships. They are all very understanding of things that may come up in our personal lives such as being ill or having a sick child, and they work with us to specify what we need to get caught up. I truly believe each of my professors is committed to us and to the profession by making sure we will be the best teachers we can be.
Dr. Felton is my advisor. She is very in tune with her students’ needs. If we are struggling with a particular section or assignment she will push it back and give us additional time to review. She wants us to be successful and gives us the tools to do so. Dr. Acklie is always sharing insight with us from her time in the classroom. Whether it’s how to work with a particular student who is struggling or how to make useful classroom materials, she is full of ideas to make our classrooms run more smoothly. Dr. Schulz is always challenging us to push ourselves to the next level. She tells us she believes in us and knows we can achieve things that we don’t even think we can do ourselves. She is always encouraging in her words and holds us to high standards.
I have been fortunate to participate in many classrooms through my practicum experiences. I have worked in classrooms in schools in Omaha, Bellevue and Papillion spanning many different age groups – from infants to sixth graders. The experience I have gained from getting into the classrooms and working with actual students is invaluable to my preparation as a future educator. It is one thing to read about something in a book and another thing entirely to go out and actually practice the theories and strategies we have learned about in class. I am glad that we get to experience both the theoretical and practical sides of teacher education simultaneously.
I don’t think I would get the same quality of education at a larger school. Here the class sizes are small enough that you get a lot of one-on-one time with the professors and more opportunity to ask more questions.
At College of Saint Mary I have taken almost all of my classes with the same group of girls. I like this because it gives me such a good opportunity to build relationships with my fellow pre-service teachers. We all have similar goals and have built a close community with one another. We work together as a team to help one another and to share ideas. This is helpful because it prepares us to work well in teams when we are out in the schools. Good teachers work together and help one another and we get good practice with that here.
