Headshot of U N E secondary education / english major Rachel Mott

Rachael Mott ’09

Welcoming Community

More than anything, I loved the supportive environment at SWAGÊÓƵ — a fact I appreciate more than ever after spending a graduate year at a large university. I was not just a number at SWAGÊÓƵ — I am still not a number at SWAGÊÓƵ. Everyone in the English and Education Departments not only knew everyone else, but took an interest in their progress, and this goes for faculty as well as students. I still email back and forth with a number of my fellow English and Education majors and professors and hope to continue doing so.

If I wanted to study something and there wasn't a class available, the faculty helped me design an independent study. I had a particularly memorable one working on Shakespeare. It was an encouraging and motivating environment to say the very least!

Hands-on Learning

Of all my experiences at SWAGÊÓƵ, I have no doubt that my student teaching experience during my final semester was the most valuable. I was able to bring together all that I had learned from both of my majors and put that knowledge to work in a setting that ended up being very like my real-life work environment, but with all the support I needed to ensure my continued progress and success.