What brought you to UNI?

The main components that attracted me to UNI are its location and program offerings. Located in my hometown, attending UNI allowed me to stay close to my family and friends (two of the most important things in my life). Additionally, UNI offered an amazing history program, which initially drew me to campus as I wanted to work in public history. Thankfully, as my interest in history merged with my passion for working with students, UNI helped me to easily switch to an education track.

What did you enjoy most about attending UNI?

I enjoyed the small campus environment and the various opportunities provided by student organizations, guest speakers, conferences, lectures, and volunteer events. 

How did you become interested in your major? 

I’ve always loved history and learning about the stories of local people and institutions. So, I initially came to UNI to join their Public History program in hopes of one day working in a museum. However, I soon realized that my passion revolved around working with students and I switched to a History - Teaching major. Thankfully, UNI has one of the best education programs in the nation and I just had to switch a couple of things around in my course plan. Additionally, because I switched to an education track, I could also pursue a French - Teaching endorsement which led to my current position at Cedar Falls High School.

What were some of your favorite classes? 

• Any class with Elizabeth Zwanziger
• Learning and Motivation with Rinehart
• Human Relations with Balong
• Issues in Public Administration with Renfro
• Holocaust in Literature and Film with Wildner

How have you been involved outside of the classroom?

While attending UNI, I worked mostly with public history programs by interning at the Cedar Falls Historical Society and working at the UNI Museum. With these organizations, I helped create education materials for public use. It was a lot of fun working with artifacts and figuring out how to incorporate them into fun, relatable, and informative lessons for area students.

Additionally, I volunteered frequently at various organizations, such as the local food bank and the Waterloo Public Library. These places allowed me to work closely with my hometown community and learn more about the wonderful people in it. I especially loved reading to classrooms at the Elk Run Heights Preschool and watching the students’ eyes light up during storytime.

Post-graduation plans?

I will be teaching French at Cedar Falls High School starting this Fall

How did UNI prepare you for your post-graduation plans?

UNI emphasizes real-world experiences for its undergraduate students. For example, I took one history field experience course, one student-teaching course, three teaching field experience courses, and various other courses that required me to go outside the classroom. Although I benefited from lecture-based courses, experiencing things hands-on helped me grow significantly. Now, as I enter the workforce, I feel much more prepared to handle whatever life throws at me.

What advice would you give to high school seniors?

Apply to as many scholarships as you can, especially ones that are specific to your hometown, major, etc. Oftentimes, departments have more scholarships to give than students applying for them. Never sell yourself and your accomplishments short.

Never settle and go after what you want. For example, UNI no longer has a French - Teaching major. However, I worked personally with professors to obtain a French teaching endorsement since I loved the language so much. I worked hard to find opportunities to practice teaching French with tutoring and it paid off once I secured a dream job teaching a mixture of French and social studies at Cedar Falls High School. I literally could not picture a more perfect mixture of my interests.

Be brave. Go outside your comfort zone. Try new things. Explore more of your community, even at the local level. There are so many people to meet and things to try.

Advocate for yourself. Need help with an assignment? Ask for help. Need some advice? Ask for advice. Feel misunderstood or mistreated? Speak out. There are people who want to listen and help you, and UNI is full of these people. You are not alone.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m so grateful for the people at UNI who helped me during my undergrad journey. It wasn’t always easy. Some days, I walked out of class laughing and smiling. Other days, I would go to my professor’s office in tears and shaking with anxiety. But despite my personal setbacks, I made it. I finally get to do what I love for a living. It’s an amazing feeling.