Today we feature Master in Teaching graduate student Madelyn Olszewski from Washington Township, NJ (Gloucester County) who recently completed her studies. Madelyn pursued her master’s degree immediately following her undergraduate studies. What’s been the defining points of your academic career here, anything at all that stands out to you in particular? Well, my academics, like […]
student teaching
Senior Reflects: Carly Morton and the Power of Music Education
Carly Morton, a recent Music Education graduate from Burlington County, shares her meditation on her passion for music and the value of her student teaching experience at Washington Township High School. Carly Morton’s inclination for music has always been a prevalent aspect in her life. During elementary school, Carly began playing the flute; however, it […]
Putting Experience into Practice: Clinical Intern to Educator, Mariah Hodge
Since childhood, Mariah had her sights set on becoming a teacher. Through Rowan University, she was able to graduate with a dual major in Elementary Education and Literacy Studies. Her completion of Literacy Studies has also granted her certification as a Teacher of Reading in New Jersey. Mariah’s final task to achieve her undergraduate degree […]
Back-to-School Bucket List of Rowan Juniors and Seniors
We’re so close to the beginning of the new semester, let’s kick it off with a college bucket list by sharing some students’ ambitions.
“I’m looking forward to everyone moving in and meeting more new people since my freshman year got cut short. One of my must do’s when I get back on campus this fall is to attend more basketball and football games. Also I can’t wait to go to the engineering building and go to the pond, I find it very relaxing.” – Anais Holguin, junior Marketing major from Perth Amboy, NJ (Middlesex County)
“My friend and I are on a mission to find the best lunch specials for $15 or under around campus. So far Alaura Kitchen or Family Mediterranean (both located in Pitman) are the winners! There are so many different places to explore around campus and it is so much fun to do it with friends. Also thrifting is a hoot. The lunch spot I’m excited to visit again is Au Bon Pain, it’s opening back up and I NEED their croissants.” – Meena Young, senior Biological Sciences major from Sickerville, NJ (Camden County)
“I am extremely excited to be student teaching this year and to finally have in-person classes again. I miss interacting with my peers and being on campus. I miss studying at James Hall, the education building and the library and those are spots I look forward to visiting again.” – London Raikes, senior Inclusive and Elementary Education major from Deptford, NJ (Gloucester County)
“I am involved in quite a few organizations on campus. I’m most looking forward to continuing my role as the Blood Services Undergraduate Coordinator for the Office of Volunteerism. There are many things on my bucket list this year and that includes living in an on-campus apartment, seeing my South Jersey friends, walking near Town Square, taking most of my core Finance and MIS courses and exploring campus with my friends.” Sasmita Prabu, junior Finance major from Somerset County, NJ
“I’m looking forward to finally being in person again. Looking at a screen for 18 months has been really sad, it feels like so much of the college experience was lost. At least I’ll be less tempted to fall asleep during class. I am going to be an RA this year, so I am excited to meet new people and help others have a great return to Rowan. I have many things on my bucket list and that includes: going to the Fitness Center and working out with my friends, having movie nights with my friends in their apartments, going to Cookie Munchers and eating more calories in 10 minutes than you’re supposed to eat in two days, riding the shuttles to the movie theater, having an advisor meeting in person, taking free electives to pursue other passions rather than fulfilling requirements, plus eating at Smoked again.” – RJ Wentzell, senior Exercise Science major of Pilesgrove, NJ (Salem County)
“A couple of things I look forward to this school year are my campus event Emo Night, planning concerts, writing music and finishing my junior year. I haven’t seen Dennis Diblasio [since before COVID], I’m looking forward to seeing him.” – junior Malachi Prillerman of Palmyra, NJ (Burlington County), Music Industry major and transfer student from Hampton University
“This year, I hope to get accepted as a transfer ambassador. A must do is to visit a restaurant during a social hour. Academically, I look forward to receiving high grades, building connections with my professors and receiving a letter of recommendation.” – De’Ja Morris of Woodbury, NJ (Gloucester County), senior Finance major and transfer student from Salem Community College
“This September, I look forward to going back to regular class, walking around and seeing new faces. A few things I would like to do again this semester are seeing all my friends from freshman year, visiting the Rec Center, eating at the Student Center and playing sports.” – Hualsy Paredes, junior Construction Management major from Fort Lee, NJ (Bergen County) and transfer student from Utica College
“I am really excited to graduate. I’ve been working really hard since COVID to maintain my grades just for this moment. I really like the club fair every fall. I’m excited for that! I’m also really excited to study in the library again. I am most looking forward to in-person classes.” – Alexa Wentworth, senior Psychology major from West Windsor, NJ (Mercer County)
“Being able to go to clubs, meeting up at the Student Center and getting food together, being able to see my professors in person, and visiting Science Hall again.” – Andrew Pinto, junior Physics major from Hammonton, NJ (Atlantic County)
“I came into Rowan as a transfer so I haven’t tried anything yet. I’m sad because I lost a year so I want to be as involved as possible. This year, I’m looking forward to seeing my fellow peers, raising my GPA and attending football games.” – senior Tara Preston of Camden County, NJ, Economics major and transfer student from Delaware County Community College
“A must do with my friends is going to RoBo and getting pizza. Academically, I look forward to staying busy with classes and making new friends in class.” – Maria Espejo, junior Psychology major from River Edge, NJ (Bergen County)
“I’m most looking forward to seeing Discovery Hall this year and to go to football, basketball and hockey games with my friends.” – Lauren Blaze of Branchburg, NJ (Somerset County), senior Civil and Environmental Engineering major
“Being able to socialize with new classmates and professors! I haven’t seen Dr. Bhatia in person since before COVID, I am very much looking forward to seeing him on campus this fall. Looking forward to social events, clubs and projects.” – senior Hayley Lomas of Woodbury, NJ (Gloucester County), a Mechanical Engineering major with a CUG in Aerospace Engineering and transfer student from Rowan College of South Jersey
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Story by:
Nene Diallo, senior public relations major
Photos by:
Reshaun Timmons, Stephanie Batista, RJ Wentzell and Anthony Raisley
Rowan Football photo courtesy of:
University Publications
Alumni Success: Stephanie Ibe and How She Became a Teaching Assistant in France
Today we speak with Stephanie Ibe, a 2020 graduate who majored in Biological Sciences with a minor in French and Honors and Pre-med concentrations. Stephanie stayed in Le Havre, France for seven months while working as a teaching assistant through the TAPIF Program. Stephanie comes from Franklin Park, NJ in Somerset County. She was involved in MAPS (Minority Association of Premedical Students), Res Life as an RA/ARD, research, tutoring, RUPAC (Rowan University Philippine American Coalition), Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED – Premed Honors Society), University Chorus, and mentoring through the Dr. Harley E. Flack program.
What is the name of this program?
It’s called TAPIF, which stands for Teaching Assistant Program In France and it’s through the French Ministry of Education. TAPIF was recommended to me by my French teacher, Dr. Maria Hernandez, a former Fulbright Program alumna.
What part of France were you mainly based in?
Normandy! It has a mix of everything. It’s in the northwest of France. You can find suburbs, cities, small towns, beaches, cliffs and the countryside. It’s about two hours away from Paris. You could take a bus to Paris from Normandy for as low as eight euros (about $9). When we traveled to the south of France, we took a train ride from Normandy that took about six hours.
My base city is really special. It’s called Le Havre. It is an urban city with a beach and a port. It is located right next to Sainte-Adresse, where Claude Monet created many of his paintings. What happened in Le Havre is that during the World War II bombings, the entire city was destroyed. The city was rebuilt not too long ago. It was rebuilt by Auguste Perret between 1945 and 1964, so Le Havre looks completely different from other typical French cities. The buildings are a little bit newer and more modern. They are boxier and made of concrete.
How many people again were in your program in France?
According to the website, about 1,100 people participated in it and in my city there were 13 assistants.
How close did you live near each other?
We were all within about 20 minutes of each other, whether by bus, tram or walking. Public transportation is really important in France so we all had our own public transportation card which was pretty affordable. I only had to pay 25 euros a month. It made transportation really easy. Most of us were within the city center, so it was very easy to walk to each other’s apartments.
Could you describe what it was like going from graduation to the pandemic to going to France?
It was such a stressful experience. From the time I graduated to the time I was actually on the plane to France, I didn’t know if I would still be doing the program. We didn’t get our acceptance letters until the end of June, because of Covid delays, and our actual placements until the end of July. And even though we got our acceptance letters, we still weren’t sure if we could leave the country because of the pandemic. The visa center did not open until mid-September. They were not accepting applications to apply for a visa until mid-September, and I had to be in France by mid-October. After I was able to schedule my appointment time for the visa center it took a little bit of time for my visa to process. I got my visa about one week before I had my flight to France.
Even after I got my visa, I had a lot of other things to do before my flight to France. I had to get a background check, my fingerprints scanned, and I had to get my COVID test done 72 hours before boarding. Until I was on the flight, it was stressful, but I made it! Thankfully, it was a lot easier to come back to the US.
What did you do as a teaching assistant?
I taught English and American culture. I taught at two different high schools. One was a hotel and service trade school, where they taught things like culinary, restaurant service. All of the classes I taught for that school were centered around things like food and drinks, holidays and traditions, nutrition, and service dialogues. The other high school I taught at was a technical and professional high school, where they have programs for Biotechnology, Health, and Social Science. I got to talk a lot about things I was passionate about like U.S. healthcare, our education system, civil rights, nutrition, designing experiments, ethics, biotechnology, and general American culture and traditions.
I incorporated a lot of things they were interested in learning about. I would do different kinds of presentations and activities about American culture. I helped them prepare for their oral presentations and would give them feedback.
Did you get to decide that or was there a guideline from TAPIF?
When you’re filling out your application, you get to check off a few boxes about your background. I majored in biology and I did bench and clinical research, so that’s what I included in my application.
I think TAPIF also tries to decide your placement based on your hobbies. For example, I put on my application that I really enjoy cooking so they placed me in a school with a culinary program. For the most part, they put you where they think you’d fit in best and what high school you are able to give the most to.
What was your favorite memory as a teaching assistant?
I really liked getting to know all of my students and seeing their growth from when I first began teaching to the end. I remember when I first met them, they were so shy and scared to speak to me. By the end of the program, they were so excited to speak in class and we were able to have a lot of fun conversations together.
I loved being able to actually talk to them about what they’re interested in and seeing them build their confidence in being able to speak English. I had them pick what topics they’d be interested in learning. I really liked that because they also had a lot to teach me in return, through our discussions. I would always ask them about things like what kind of music, shows, food, stores, and activities they like. It was like an inside scoop to their culture.
How did Rowan’s French program help prepare you for this experience?
I loved how small Rowan’s French program was. I had a lot more opportunities to practice speaking with the students in my class because there were only five or six students. There’s also more one-on-one help from your professors.
The support I got from the faculty was huge. I wouldn’t have gotten the position if it wasn’t for Dr. Hernandez. She encouraged me to pursue the French minor and apply to the program. In the beginning, I was debating on whether or not I should go to France because I am also applying to medical school. Dr. Hernandez walked me through the pros and cons of going to France in the midst of a pandemic. Eventually, I made my decision to go based on the idea that I’ll never get to experience and learn about France the way I did in those seven months. It truly would’ve been an opportunity of a lifetime.
In the end, I was honestly so thankful that I went this year. Even though everything was closed the entire time I was there, I don’t think I would have built such a strong bond with all the other assistants if everything was open. We would have each been doing our own thing. Being able to experience big cities like Paris with fewer people on the streets was also really cool.
Like what you see?
Story by:
Marian Suganob, public relations and advertising graduate
Photos by:
Stephanie Batista, junior music industry major
and Stephanie Ibe, biological sciences graduate
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We’re Not in Glassboro Anymore: Nadine El Maalem Shares Her Study Abroad Experience in Morocco
Senior Reflects: Subject Matter Education And English Major Christina Bharda
Today, we speak to senior Subject Matter Education and English dual major Christina Bharda from Middletown, NJ (Monmouth County). She tells us more about her Greek life involvement and what she looks forward to doing with her degree.
Are you in any campus involvement or clubs?
I’m in a sorority! I’m the vice president of programming and ritual for Alpha Sigma Alpha.
What do you want to do with your degree once you graduate?
I want to teach middle school or high school English. Eventually, I want to teach students with learning disabilities.
What favorite class experience or professor have you had so far?
I would say Dr. Glazer is the most amazing Education professor. I’m also student teaching right now, too so that’s pretty cool! I’m teaching at Millville Memorial High School.
How would you rate your Rowan experience as a whole?
Ten out of 10. It has been the best. I definitely picked the right place!
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LEARN MORE
Story by:
Bianca Torres, senior music industry major
Photography by:
Rachel Rumbsy, sophomore communication studies and public relations double major
Beyond the Classroom: Future Teacher’s Clinical Practice Radically Changes Due to COVID-19
Today’s “Beyond the Classroom” features Tabitha Dougherty, a recent Rowan graduate. She majored in both elementary education and liberal studies to learn more about her “other passions of history and geography.” From Gloucester City, NJ (Camden County), Tabitha transferred from Camden County College after a career change to enter into the teaching profession. In her words, she shares how the pandemic altered her student teaching year — called a clinical practice — and how she plans to grow from the experience.
I began my journey in education about five years ago. I worked at a call center as a team leader that managed a group of about seven. I realized how much I enjoyed the teaching aspect of this position and made the decision to leave my career behind to further my education into teaching.
Each education class I took connected me with field work. The first few semesters were observations of various schools, where I saw how teachers of differing backgrounds worked within the schools and their classrooms.
Student teachers now participate in a year-long clinical practice. This entails two full days a week in semester one and five full days a week during semester two. In both semesters, it is the teacher candidate’s responsibility to fully immerse themselves in the classroom environment by getting to know the cooperating teacher, the students, the daily routine and what it is really like to be a teacher. If you begin this year long teaching practice in the fall, you get the added benefit of having the same students all year long.
This is the part of the program where you really begin to find out if this is your calling, and for me it is where I discovered that the passion I have to become a teacher is much deeper than I could have ever imagined. My passion is seeing all students succeed and finding different ways in which you can change things around to ensure that every single child gets the same opportunity.
Clinical practice is not easy, nor for the faint of heart, but it is the most rewarding thing I have ever been a part of, and it’s what solidified for me that I made the right career choice. It is my forever choice.
Sadly, my clinical practice was cut short due to the current pandemic. As of [mid-March], I have not been at the school I was assigned and have only been able to see the students through Zoom twice. I was able to create a video of myself reading a story using an interactive program on the Portal by Facebook called Story Time. My cooperating teacher shared this video with the students through their parents’ email.
The current situation really opened my eyes to the lack of technology that some school districts have. The school district I am in did not have a plan set in place for online learning and provided each student with a 10-day paper packet in the hopes it would only be a two-week shutdown.
We now know it has gone on longer than two weeks, and now some students, those with technology at home, are being directed to websites to complete activities that coincide with the standards of their grade level. Since not all students have access to a laptop, computer, or tablet, the district cannot require that all students participate in online learning. This is where the students are getting the short end of the stick and where teachers will be very busy, to put it mildly, next year.
I am hoping that students will come through this stronger than ever and ready to learn, but more importantly, I am hopeful that school districts are looking into a curriculum that is heavier in the use of technology and providing that technology to each student for online learning in the event something like this happens again.
What I take away from this is, I will be making sure that all of my lessons will be available for students online not only in the event of an emergency, but for them to review at home when needed. Not only is the use of technology important for situations such as our current pandemic, but it is the way of the future and plays to multiple levels of intelligence depending on the programs used.
I have never been more motivated to be a teacher and look forward to working in a new era of learning.
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Photos courtesy of:
Tabitha Dougherty, Pexels, Unsplash
Senior Reflects: Future Middle School Teacher Jessica Lynn Heady
Meet Jessica Lynn Heady, a first-generation college student and graduating senior who commuted from her home in Mantua, NJ (Gloucester County). Jessica, who majors in Subject Matter English Education and minors in Psychology, transferred from Rowan College at Gloucester County (now RCSJ). Here, Jessica shares her favorite moments from Rowan and thanks those who helped her as she pursued her teaching education path.
Tell us about your favorite classroom experience.
One of my favorite experiences was in Dr. Viator’s Shakespeare class. The class was held in Winans Hall in a room with paper-thin walls, and the class next door was always loud. So one day he was not having it and decided to give them a taste of their own medicine. He shouted as loud as he could at the dividing wall to tell them to stop laughing. Ironically our class howled with laughter. Once we were all settled down Dr. Viator said, “You won’t remember anything from today’s lesson, but you’ll remember your crazy professor yelling at a wall.” And he was absolutely right.
What was your favorite moment at Rowan?
One of my favorite personal moments at Rowan is when I would hang out with my friends after class in the pit or on the third floor of the student center. We would always say we would get together to do homework, but we would really just sit there and people watch, laughing way too loud and way too hard.
What are your career aspirations? How did the people or programs at Rowan help to support you with those aspirations?
My career goal is to become a middle school English teacher to inspire students to learn. The professors and the staff members of The College of Education have supported me to do so. My professors have modeled excellent teaching strategies that I can use in my classroom and created learning environments that encourage and motivate me to do my best. The staff members of The College of Education have given me the guidance and support that I needed to succeed in my journey at Rowan University. Without them, I would not have the resources I need to have a successful future.
Do you want to give a thank you shout out to your family, friends, advisors or mentors?
I’d like to thank my mom, my dad, my sister, and my grandma. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me throughout my college career. Thank you for being there for me when I thought my best wasn’t good enough. Thank you for staying up late with me as I wrote my essay after essay. And thank you for always encouraging me. I love you.
I would like to thank my cooperating teacher and mentor, Christine Neri. Thank you for all your support and guidance during my student teaching journey. Thank you for having faith and confidence in me when I did not have it in myself. I have learned so much from you. And I appreciate all that you have done for me. You’re the best.
I would like to thank Dr. Timothy Viator. Thank you for creating classes that are both educational and meaningful. Thank you for all your teaching and life advice. But most importantly thank you for continued support even in your time of retirement. I am forever grateful for that.
I’d like to thank my friends. Thank you for the laughter and the tears we have shared. Thank you for our late-night study sessions that would always get us sidetracked. And thank you for not letting me be the only person who would jokingly say I was going to drop out at the smallest inconvenience. Without all of you, my college career would have been extremely boring.
Lastly, I would like to thank my advisor, Nadia Rahin. Thank you for all the support you have provided me during my college career. Through all the ups and downs you were always there to help me keep my eye on my goals. And thank you for introducing me to classes that I would have never thought of taking. Because of you, my original goals have expanded from being an English teacher to being an English teacher who loves history, psychology, and women and gender Studies. Thank you for all that you have done for me.
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Rebecca Schnier Discusses Student Teaching
Meet Rebecca Schnier, a senior Education and Liberal Studies dual major from North Brunswick, NJ (Middlesex County). She has a Teachers of Students with Disabilities endorsement and student teaches at John H. Winslow Elementary School in Vineland, NJ. Today we chat with her about the opportunities she has had to engage in her majors at Rowan University, […]
Elementary Education & Liberal Studies #PROFspective: Jen Fagan (Student Teaching Edition)
Today we speak with Jennifer Fagan, a senior elementary education and liberal studies major from Kenilworth (Union County), New Jersey, who rents a townhouse off campus. Jennifer will share her #PROFspective with us on what it’s like to be a Rowan University student who is completing her student teaching this semester. Name: Jennifer Fagan Major: […]
#PROFspective: Early Childhood Education and American Studies Major Chrissie McCabe
Today, we speak with Chrissie McCabe, a senior early childhood education & American studies major from Mantua (Gloucester County), NJ, who commutes from home. Chrissie will share her #PROFspective with us on what it’s like to be a Rowan University student and how she’s getting the most out of her college experience as a Rowan […]