Name: MaryKate Higgins
Year: Senior
School: College of Education
Major: Early childhood education
Hometown: Hanover, Pa.
Why I chose Temple: My hometown is really small. I wanted something different. I was attracted to Temple because it s in a city, but I was worried at first because it would be culture shock. There were only 105 students in my high school graduating class I was used to knowing everyone. But I found out that Temple s College of Education is like a small community within a larger university. And then there was Temple s Honors Program. I met with an Honors peer mentor. He took me to one of his classes, and two other Honors students took me and my mom to lunch. I met with Ruth Ost, the director of the Honors Program. The next day I made my decision and made my deposit. I knew that I wouldn t just be treated like a number. I knew I wouldn t be lost.
Transformative experience: My first transformative experience was working with Tree House Books, a non-profit organization on a mission to grow a community of readers and writers in North Philadelphia. Working with Tree House Books has played a huge role in defining my time at Temple. At first I thought it was just helping children with their homework, but it s more than that. It s really about becoming a mentor. The kids we work with grow up a few blocks from Temple, yet they often can t see themselves going to college. Changing that is one of our goals. We talk a lot about college. It s helping us bridge the boundary between Temple and the community around us.
Also, when I applied, I knew that Temple worked closely with the School District of Philadelphia. I ve had opportunities to teach in Philadelphia as part of the College of Education s Practicum since the first semester of my sophomore year. I m student-teaching right now at Duckrey Elementary, a school that s right next to campus. I ve been there for the whole semester 15 weeks, every day, from 8:30 to 3:30 or 4.
It s real-world experience. When you come into the classroom, you re immediately thrown into a situation where you need to learn your students and how they prefer to learn. I ve been able to jump in, prepare whole-group and small-group lessons and try out new things. It s really great practice.
Becoming part of the Duckrey community has been amazing. I ve been able to step out of my comfort zone and take advantage of opportunities I wouldn t have gotten if I d gone to school somewhere else. A lot of people questioned why I chose Duckrey because it s underserved and has challenges. I went into it thinking I m going to get a lot out of this experience I was going to learn a lot, and it was going to test me. I ve always identified with the students who needed the most help. When you teach in an urban school, you re really making a difference with people who really need you most.
I m in the Accelerated 4+1 Program, which is an accelerated master s program. After completing the program, you get a B.S. in early childhood and elementary education, a master s degree in special education, and you're eligible to apply for two teaching certificates. I wanted to do it because so many classrooms now are inclusive classrooms. I need to be prepared to work with students who have disabilities. I want to be able to meet the needs of all my learners.
I definitely think Temple has made me real-world ready. I ve had so many different types of experiences I ve been in a special-ed room; I ve been in a school where it s primarily English language learners; I ve been in kindergarten and that prepares you for looking for a job. It s import to be adaptable. Temple has helped me with that.
