Finding My Passion As An Education Major

My name is Emily and I am a senior Secondary Mathematics major from St. Louis, Missouri. I originally came to Bradley as an Elementary Education major but decided to switch to the high-school level and teach mathematics during my first semester of sophomore year. Making this switch was not an easy decision, especially considering that I knew it would potentially postpone my ability to graduate in four years; however, I knew in my heart that I was making the right decision. I talked to my academic advisor about the switch and she was nothing but helpful and supportive of my decision. In addition to speaking with my education academic advisor, I was also given a new mathematics academic advisor. With the help of both of my academic advisors, I was able to create a new plan for the next two and a half years at Bradley that would ultimately keep me on the path to graduate on time. The accessibility of both programs at Bradley is what made the difficult decision to switch a much easier decision. 

Bradley University is built on experiential learning, which I can attest to as a result of the last 3.5 years I’ve spent here. I have accumulated over 200 hours in a school classroom working with students all across the Peoria area, and next semester I will be essentially completing a senior capstone project through my student teaching experience. The knowledge I have learned in the classrooms at Bradley has prepared me to be successful while working in the field. I have created relationships with my professors through the small class sizes and low student to teacher ratio that have benefitted my learning significantly. I know that my professors have my best interest as their top priority and they want to see me be successful after graduation. I also like that many of my classmates and I have similar schedules. This helps create more meaningful discussions in the classroom that I can then apply to my field experiences. 

Overall, I have enjoyed being a part of the Secondary Mathematics Education program at Bradley University. Both the education and mathematics programs have been supportive and prepared me for success post-graduation. For anyone considering Secondary Mathematics, I would highly recommend this program as it has been a very positive experience for me.

Emily E.