In December, a group of 14 SU students successfully completed an internship in Teacher Education at various Central Florida elementary, middle and high schools. Students in the program gained real-world experience by being in the schools every day, all day, for a duration of 15 weeks, teaching, grading and planning classes. Included in the full-time internship, students were required to take two classes connecting coursework with work done in the field. Recent graduate Jacqueline Horbert from Maitland, Fla., pictured in the white shirt, shared her experience, which you can also read in the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of VISUAL magazine.

I started looking at colleges my junior year of high school and wanted to go to a school that offered a major in Education and had lightweight rowing, something not offered by most schools. When I visited Stetson, I fell in love. My mind was set. This was the place to be.

I have always wanted to teach. I thought school was such a magical place to learn and to find answers to your questions. Many teachers I’ve had here have had high expectations for me, and that is great. It makes you work harder.

My internship at Woodward Avenue Elementary in DeLand, Fla., consisted of about 400 hours in the school over four months. It was a wonderful school. I worked with third-grade gifted students, many of whom didn’t have much, but they did have the most important thing – a supportive family and community. Woodward’s Mrs. Grover was a great example and allowed me to use techniques and methods I thought would work. Part of having a good internship is having a good teacher to work with. She wanted me to succeed as a teacher, and I will always be thankful for the things I learned from her during my internship.

I am still in the process of figuring out what is next, but I have my fingers crossed. I have applied for my Master’s in Elementary Science Education at the Florida Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in Melbourne. I hope to work as an
F.I.T. Residence Director and to be an assistant coach for their rowing program.

Stetson has been a wonderful experience for me. I am so happy to have been in an environment that has enabled me to grow as a person and one in which professional relationships developed with professors. I am so excited and look forward to having a classroom of my own one day.

Find out more about Teacher Education at stetson.edu/education.