Learn Something New...
Ignite your mind! The UW Tacoma campus is home to more than 27 works of public art.
Ignite your mind! The UW Tacoma campus is home to more than 27 works of public art.
The friendly atmosphere at the university's Open House put Amanda at ease and led her to realize the importance she places on the feel of a small campus.
Amanda von Ehrenkrook found herself drawn to the natural beauty of UW Tacoma’s campus and its proximity to the waterfront. You can probably catch her on a park bench looking out at the sparkling water of Puget Sound on a sunny day. That is, unless she is lingering on her way there, admiring the art pieces on display along the Bridge of Glass.
"I really enjoy the aesthetics of the campus. Just having lunch out in a park environment everyday is great,” von Ehrenkrook says. “I also like the emphasis on the arts. I think the arts are very important and when a community comes together over the arts, I think they have a good focus.” von Ehrenkrook was also attracted to UW Tacoma’s teaching program, which will allow her to be certified to teach K-8 general education and K-12 special education. Her dream of being a teacher started young. von Ehrenkrook recalls begging her parents to buy her a chalkboard so she could play school. She would “teach” her friends or parents writing math problems she didn’t understand and making up the answers.
"I wanted to be a teacher before I knew what that was,” von Ehrenkrook says.
Pursuit of her dream took her to Pierce College Puyallup as a Running Start student. von Ehrenkrook, now 21, continued her education at Western Washington University from 2005 to 2007, where she majored in English and took education classes.
UW Tacoma proved to be the perfect place to continue her academic journey.
"I do think the school is very unique because you think of the University of Washington and picture yourself lost in a sea of faces,” von Ehrenkrook says.
At UW Tacoma, that is not the case. von Ehrenkrook estimates that there are 36 members of the Education Program’s cohort, 11 of which are part of the dual track like herself. One of the benefits is that the professors can devote all their time and energy to a smaller group of students.
She especially enjoys learning from Dr. José Rios, who ranks as one of her best professors ever. Amanda describes him as very wise and understanding.
"Our professors are very gifted and talented," she says.
Her professors are also taking advantage of the campus’ unique location and proximity to the museums to give students hands-on experience that will help them as teachers.
"We’re learning how to connect with the community," she says.
Students also participate in student teaching after finishing their first quarter in the summer. This experience allows students to observe in a classroom before taking on tasks that will equip them to be full-time teachers by the end of the year. Starting in January, von Ehrenkrook will work more hours and take on more responsibility, but she feels well-prepared.
"I've planned lessons, I’ve implemented lessons, I’ve done more than just observe. So for me it’s going be just a continuation of what I’ve been doing."
Von Ehrenkrook’s classes are also helping her focus her career choice. She has always had a desire to help children, a talent she was able to develop through volunteering at Bethany Baptist Church, where her dad served as a children’s pastor.
Von Ehrenkrook has also had a blast working with children while performing at schools through the Touring Children’s Theater group in a production that emphasized friendship and outreach. Her hobbies, in addition to salsa dancing, include writing for children and helping at Jovita Baptist Church, where her father is currently senior pastor.
While she has always had a love for children, von Ehrenkrook wasn’t sure what age group she wanted to work with and had considered teaching abroad. That is, until her professor Dr. Greg Benner pointed out that “You don’t have to be a teacher in a classroom to be an educator.” “When he said ‘curriculum planning,’ that really struck a chord with me,” von Ehrenkrook recalls.
The hands-on experience she has been receiving has encouraged von Ehrenkrook to consider education reform, and because of her newfound interest in curriculum planning, von Ehrenkrook realizes that working outside the classroom may allow her to impact more students. Now, von Ehrenkrook wants to stay in the area and work within the system. She says her classes are preparing her for what she will encounter in the classroom, experience she will need to reach her goal of becoming a curriculum planner.
"I definitely think anyone who works in education needs to have the experience in a classroom and I think even one or two years is not enough for that. I think you really need to invest time with children before you can move on. Because if you don’t, how are you ever going to know kids? And my dad said something so profound the other day, that the main thing that is so crucial, that so few people ever achieve, is going into the world of children. And I love that because I think so few educators really go into the world of children. They expect children to go into the world of adults."
Von Ehrenkrook is thrilled that she will be certified to teach in fall 2008. What she takes away from UW Tacoma will equip her to teach and reach her ultimate goal: helping children.
"I’m really excited to see what our class can do together and having parents and students involved and invested. Teachers can change students’ lives."
If UW Tacoma fits your academic goals and life situation, take the next step. Check out the degrees open to you and then visit the campus for a true UW Tacoma experience.
