IEA ConferenceApril 19, 2009
Each year the Illinois Education Association hosts two conferences for
pre-service teachers. This past weekend I and a group of eleven other
students from the Education Department attended this conference in East
Peoria. This was my fifth time attending the conference, and each time I
am impressed with the sessions offered. The conference offers a great
opportunity to hear from knowledgeable speakers on a variety of
different topics for education majors. This year I was especially
excited for some sessions geared towards graduating seniors concerning
collective bargaining, job contracts, and employee rights. The
conference was a great time for all of those who attended as well as a
great opportunity. For any students interested in furthering your
education on teaching I strongly encourage you to join our local
chapter!
Job AppsApril 9, 2009
As summer approaches quickly, the pressure of finding a job increases
for all of the seniors. As someone who has 18 credit hours this semester
and other responsibilities I feel as though I am not as far along in the
job-hunting process as I would like to be. I’m sure that there are many
others who feel the same was as I do. With so many other things going on
now prior to graduation, sometimes it’s hard to think about the life
after I cross the stage in May. This semester I wished I had a class
that correlated with the Wackerle Center and required me to fill out job
applications, perfect my resume and cover letter, and practice
interviewing skills for a minimum of three hours each week. I believe
that teaching those skills would give Monmouth College students an
advantage when entering the competitive job market.
Loading up belongingsApril
6, 2009
On Friday I was visited by my Mom and sister who took a three hour drive
to take me out to lunch! We had a really nice time walking around
Monmouth and shopping in my Mom’s favorite store in Monmouth, A Taste of
Country. Before their departure, I got to load up my Mom’s car with some
of my personal items that I no longer need for the remainder of this
year. I’ve been worried about moving out of the dorm after graduation
this year, and pictured my parents driving a U-Haul to graduation! For
the past two summers I have been fortunate to able to store some of my
items in the Fulton attic, so now is the time where all of my belongings
have to get packed up and go home with me. As I cleared out drawers and
closets and loaded them into the car I realized I have way too much
STUFF. Being in a Head Resident apartment I have more room than other
students on campus, and it is very easy to accumulate more things in
your room when you have more space. Although I’m not sure if I ever
really needed to have 10 pink plastic cups or entire shoe box filled
with markers. At this point I’m just crossing my fingers that I can
bring all of my belongings back home!
Plans for the final weeksMarch
30, 2009Whoever says that senior year
of college is a breeze is either lying or isn’t involved. As a senior I
had hopes that I may have more downtime this year than in years past,
but between my course load, job as Head Resident, commitments to
organizations, and being with my friends who I will have to say good-bye
to in May, I feel as though I have much more to do than ever before. I’m
not sure I would be able to survive if it weren’t for my organizational
skills; my desk is covered in colored Post-it notes about assignments,
meetings, and job application dead-lines. Just yesterday when my hall
staff and I were assigning what nights staff member would be on duty in
April, I realized that I know exactly what I will be doing every weekend
from now until graduation. My calendar has become another reminder that
college is coming to a close; as I receive e-mails about purchasing
graduation cords for various groups and making the dinner reservations
for my family on graduation weekend. Not to mention my stack of resumes
that need to be sent out, I am overwhelmed with a bittersweet feeling. I
look forward to this upcoming year and what is to come, but Monmouth
College has become a second home to me; I have become close with many
students and faculty and staff and I know it will be difficult to say
good bye come May.