Henderson Collegiate Campus Visit

Community Engagement - Engagement Event

On April 27th, 2017 from 11:30-1:00 p.m, I was able to represent the College of Education by giving students from Henderson Collegiate High School a sneak peak of NC State's amazing campus. I led a campus tour and then participated in a student question and answer panel. These students were also given the chance to explore Centennial Campus and see the outstanding Hunt Library. As sophomore's in high school I was truly amazed by how determined they were for college. All of the students asked really great questions about scholarships, honors and scholars programs, and majors offered at State. These students were all very kind and respectful; they expressed their appreciation by shaking their hands in the air instead of clapping and making noise. Some students even shook my hand before they left. I was very impressed! I am so thankful to have been asked to participate in this experience because I love showing off our amazing school and encouraging people to attend. Also it reminded me that no matter what age you are, it is important to learn more about colleges and universities in order to help motivate students to further their education. Thank you Henderson Collegiate for allowing me to engage with these amazing students!

Hanukkah Mini-Lesson

Cross Cultural Skills - Engagement Event

Happy Holidays! On December 16, 2016 from 1:30-2:15 p.m, I was given the opportunity to explain the details of  Hanukkah to a 3rd grade class at Millis Road Elementary School in Jamestown, NC. Growing up, I have celebrated Hanukkah every year because my father is Jewish. It was always interesting learning more and more about the holiday each year as I grew older, and I am thrilled that I was able to teach others about it this year! The students in the class were very eager to learn about Hanukkah. I started off by explaining that the Jews celebrated Hanukkah because of a great miracle of their oil lasting eight nights after a major victory over their Greek-Syrian oppressors. I then explained to the students the importance of the menorah, what the tallest candle resembles, and how to light the candles. 

Lastly, I explained the game of dreidel and let them get in groups to play together. When it was time to clean up, I passed out a small dreidel, instructions, and supplies for each of them to take home. The students seemed to enjoy this very much! To wrap up my time with the class, I allowed them to ask questions in order to clarify some of the things I had explained.  At times during this lesson, it was difficult to explain the details of the holiday in terms that the students would understand. To overcome this challenge, I attempted to draw some similarities and differences between Hanukkah and Christmas. One student asked if people who celebrate Hanukkah get presents. I was able to respond by saying that instead of getting presents, the Jews received gifts of money called gelt. Although it was a bit of a challenge to allow the students to fully understand, I feel that this experience has helped me grow as a future educator. I had a great time working with these students and I am very thankful to Mrs. Shields at Millis Road Elementary for giving me this opportunity!

Read to Lead - "Across the World"

Global Knowledge - Engagement Event

On November 11, 2016 in Poe Hall from 10-11 a.m, I was able to work with 4th and 5th grade students in the Read to Lead program. I assisted my peer Taylor Winnix with the activity she created called "Across the World." For the activity, students were given a map and were told to walk around to different stations, each one a different continent, and complete different tasks. The main goal of the activity was to visit all of the continents and learn a little bit about each one along the way. The photo to the left is of a student and I learning about Africa. Our first task was to unscramble names of animals that live in Africa, and our second task was to find the African capitals in a word search. After we finished our tasks in Africa, we moved on to Antarctica where we had to write an acrostic poem using facts about the continent. The other stations included Asia, South America, and Europe. I thought that the activity Taylor put together was fantastic! Unfortunately, we did not have very many students participate. However, the few students that I got to work with seemed to really enjoy the activity. I had a great time working on the tasks with the students and assisting them in learning more about the different continents. I believe that this opportunity was perfect in helping me become more integrated into working with children. Much like my experience with TWT, this activity really helped me focus on working with students and following a specific lesson plan while doing so. I feel that the more experience I have in the classroom, the more confident I will be when I have students of my own in the future. This is only the second time I have really worked with students in the classroom and I can't wait to take part in more opportunities like this again soon!

Teaming with the Tigers

Community Engagement - Engagement Event

On October 17, 2016 from 4:30-5:30 p.m, I was given the opportunity to visit Creech Road Elementary to work with a program called Teaming with the Tigers. The program consisted of about ten 4th and 5th grade students who joined us after school to learn about being a good citizen!

While our lesson for the day was about good citizenship, the program meets every other week to talk about different topics. The four of us in the picture above, met about two weeks ago to make a lesson plan for our visit to the school. For our lesson, we started off by asking the students to define what it means to be a good citizen. Although most of the students already had a general idea of what it meant, we decided to give them the formal definition of a good citizen. Next, we went through a role-play activity where the students were given a "good citizen" card and a "bad citizen" card, both with scenarios on them that they would act out. Each group acted out their scenario and everyone else had to determine if it was an example of good or bad citizenship. Lastly, we split the students up into three different groups to represent three locations: school, home, and the park. Each group drew examples of being a good citizen for the area they were assigned and then presented them to the class.

I really enjoyed this experience because not only did I get to work with students, but I also got the opportunity to make a lesson plan around a topic that was assigned to me. Since I haven't had much experience inside of a classroom yet, it was a little difficult to come up with activities that I knew students would enjoy. Although I struggled at first, the lesson turned out great and the kids had fun! Knowing that I am getting involved in classrooms early on and learning how to make lesson plans will both benefit me as I continue my career to become an elementary educator. I am looking forward to having more opportunities in which I can do hands-on learning in elementary classrooms!

Pencils of Promise Presentation

Global Knowledge - Engagement Event

On September 22, 2016 from 7:15-8:15 p.m. in Talley Mountains Ballroom, Michael Dougherty, the CEO of the Pencils of Promise (PoP) presented about why he first got involved and why others should get involved with the organization. To the right is a photo of Michael Dougherty and the members of PoP at NC State. The main purpose of PoP is to build schools around the world in order to provide an education for children who may have been deprived of one previously. Since the organization was created, more than 300 schools have been built. The organization was launched at NC State in the fall of 2015 and has already raised $5,360 in the last year. Michael Dougherty said,"We believe every child should have access to quality education. We create schools, programs, and global communities around the common goal of education for all." By achieving these goals in developing countries, students can extend their years of learning which also increases their economic mobility. Dougherty told us the story of how a teacher he had said to them everyday, "go forth and spread beauty and light." He said that he took those words to heart and used them as motivation to make a difference, which he does now through PoP. This presentation changed my point of view and really brought to my attention how much others may be struggling. I believe that all children should have a right to education and should be given the opportunity to succeed. As a future educator, this event proved to me how important teachers and the right learning environment are to students. I feel very passionate about what PoP does and I am planning on joining the organization to help make a difference!

To learn more about Pencils of Promise or make a donation visit: https://pencilsofpromise.org/

Orientation Leader - New Student Programs

Professional Development - Signature Event

This past summer I was lucky enough to work alongside the best people as an Orientation Leader (OL) for New Student Programs at NC State. This signature event began in January of 2016 and was over on August 12, 2016. After being offered the position of an OL, we were enrolled in a class during the spring semester that would prepare us for our job over the summer. Above is a photo of me as a representative of the College of Education. Fun fact: each of the colleges was represented by at least one OL!

The main role of an OL is to assist new students and their families with their transition into the Wolfpack family. Our days began very early, with a 7 a.m. staff meeting in which we would receive our schedule for the day. Most days, we would receive a list of students that would be in our group for the duration of their orientation session. The photo on the left is a combination of mine and another OL's groups getting ready to go eat lunch together. Throughout the day we attended sessions with our students and facilitated activities to create dialogue about difficult topics. After all of the informational presentations were over, students got to learn a little more about the expectations and culture of the campus through a reader's theater and skits put on by the OLs. The day was concluded with an event called Packs and Rec where students were able to play games and hang out with their peers, and a final staff meeting at 10 p.m. to wrap up the day. 

I had the best summer ever working as an Orientation Leader! This experience made me a better leader and taught me many things. One of the main things I learned was how to speak in front of large groups. Before this experience, I often got very shaky when I would try to present information in front of people I didn't know. I also could not keep a conversation going with someone who I had nothing in common with. Both of these skills will be very useful to me as a teacher in the future. After this experience, I can definitely say that I grew as a person. Along with getting to meet many students in my groups, I was also able to form really strong friendships with 39 other Orientation Leaders who all came from different backgrounds and had many different things to contribute to the team. We spent every weekday working with each other, and went on some fun trips together on the weekends. Sometimes I really can't put into words how much this experience has changed me for the better, and its all thanks to these people! 

At the beginning of this experience, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I was warned about the long hours and the never ending presentations, but this was all worth it in the end. Being an Orientation Leader is definitely an experience I will never forget. Since being an OL, I have had the confidence to reach out to other organizations on campus. I joined Kappa Delta, a sorority here at NC State, in which I have met many fantastic people. I encourage everyone to go a little bit outside of their comfort zone because great things can happen. For me, it all started with a red polo!

To learn more about the position of an Orientation Leader, visit: https://newstudents.dasa.ncsu.edu/studentleadership/ol/ 

Sisterhood Dinner

Cross Cultural Skills - Engagement Event

On Monday, February 29, 2016, from 6pm -8:30pm I attended the 35th annual Sisterhood Dinner. This event was put on by the Council on the Status of Women at NC State and was held in Talley ballroom. I was offered to join the table of students (and administrator) representing Exploratory Studies. It was nice to talk to all of these students who have different majors, especially to see their differing perspectives on the topics presented at the event. The evening began with a silent auction and refreshments, followed by a delicious dinner, and concluded with a panel of four women speaking about how they have been empowered throughout their lives. The slogan for the event was LEAP which stood for Lead, Empower, Act, and Prevail. Each panelist spoke about each of the four categories and how they made an impact in their lives. I was able to get involved in the event by talking to my peers about how women can be successful in each of these categories. This event really motivated me to be better. Listening to other women speak about their experiences and how they have been successful made me want to better myself and get involved with more things on and off campus. It gave me the motivation to want to be an inspiration for other women just like these panelists were for me. Hopefully I can empower more women to "LEAP" in their everyday lives!