Ashley, a 2008 Bethany graduate, works at Columbia Elementary School in Sandy, Utah. She has had the opportunity to teach 2nd, 3rd, and currently 5th grade.
WHAT YOU DO • • • My goal every day is to spread the joy of learning to my students. My responsibility as a teacher is to teach academics, but I feel that preparing my students with life skills is equally important. I’ve had the chance to expand my education by being a part of a school-wide behavioral team, working on rewriting the district’s third grade science curriculum to match the core, and I will start classes to earn an ESL endorsement in May.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU • • • I have a true passion for learning and working with children! Students come from all types of homes, but I want to give them all the chance to have a place, a person who treasures their thoughts and understands their struggles. I am inspired by our One True Teacher, the Lord.
HOW YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE • • • Each day my goal is to create a positive impact on my students. Through my actions, expressions, and attitude I want them to recognize that there is something unique about, that being I am a Christian. This is advice given to me during my education classes at Bethany. I had a student tell his parents when asked what he thought of his new teacher respond with, “she smiles a lot!” That same student last week, while lining up for lunch asked me, “Why are you always so happy?” Hearing these phrases makes me stop to thank God again and again for His wonderful blessings! My goals for the future include becoming a mother, getting nationally certified, earning my master’s in education, and becoming a professor at Bethany.
HOW BETHANY HAS PREPARED YOU • • • Bethany not only prepared me for my career, but also my life’s vocations. The experiences that I gained from my college days at Bethany help to shape my daily decisions. The respect the Bethany staff gave me when I had the job of cleaning buildings on campus reminds me today to stop and thank the girl that vacuums my classroom. Thinking of the entire Bethany staff and faculty brings a smile to my face, however, there are two people that remain in my heart as I go about my profession, Professors Silas Born and Polly Browne. I first must give credit to God for where I am at today, but the two of them have played a significant role.
WHAT YOU REMEMBER MOST • • • Relationships, from friendships to my relationship with God.
ADVICE FOR CURRENT STUDENTS • • • Cherish your time at Bethany!