Year: Junior
Major/Program: Special Education
Hometown: Hillsdale, MI
Why did you choose WMU?
The reason why I chose WMU is because when I started looking at colleges, I was torn between two Michigan schools. One was about 2hr 30min away from my hometown and WMU was about 1hr 15min away. I liked the fact that WMU was far enough away from home that I was on my own but if I did need anything from Mom and Dad I was still close enough for them to get to me. I looked at the fact that Western is a major university but has a small campus feel, this made me feel at home since I am from a small town. I also looked at my program of interest, special education, and found out that WMU started off as an education school so I knew that our education program was a great one!
Why did you choose the major that you did?
The reason that I choose special education was because I knew I loved working with kids and my senior year of high school I participated in a program called pre-teaching. This program gave me the chance to work in classrooms as a helper for one of my classes each day. First semester I worked in a second grade elementary class and liked it. Then my second semester I worked in a center-based special education school and loved every minute of it. This is when I figured out what I wanted to do the rest of my life.
One memory from WMU:
One memory of WMU that is a favorite of mine is participating in a program called Alternative Spring Break my sophomore year. This program gives college students a chance to go on a spring break trip where you can make a difference. ASB gave me the opportunity to go to Kansas City and work with children in poverty. 8 other students and I drove down and stayed for 7 days and worked the whole time. While there I was able to bond with other students from Western while making an impact on children of Kansas City.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation I plan on finding a special education teaching job outside of Michigan so that I can explore new surroundings.