Professional Development
National Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference 2023 (NCTE)
The NCTE national conference was an amazing experience that I am truly grateful for. I had the opportunity to meet so many amazing educators and learn about a variety of topics ranging from the importance of representation in classroom literature to how to integrate the arts and museum spaces into the classroom. It was very validating to be surrounded by so many people that are passionate about education in the same way that I am. In addition to this, I became much closer to the other preservice teachers in my cohort and feel much more prepared with the knowledge that I have acquired from this conference as I head into student teaching in the spring!
Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Region VII Annual Conference (Sykes Union and Student Activities)
As a senior building manager at Sykes Union, I had the privilege of attending the ACUI Region VII Annual Conference at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This conference showed me the importance of networking and helped to introduce me to both students and professionals who are involved in higher education. I also presented on peer to peer accountability with one of my advisors.
National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference 2023 (Student Activities Council)
This was my third time attending a NACA conference and this time I went in with a different focus: thinking of things from a more graduate student lens as I prepare to attend graduate school for a master's in higher education. By shifting my focus I considered how I could best support the members on my executive board and provide them with the tools and resources that they need in order to be successful. I also presented on how to create healthy advisor/advisee relationships with my two advisors and another undergraduate student.
Pennsylvania Council for Teachers of English and Language Arts Conference 2023 (National Council of Teachers of English)
This was the second time that I attended the Pennsylvania Council for Teachers of English and Language Arts conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. At the conference, I attended a variety of sessions on pedagogical relevant topics and things such as gamification of the classroom. In addition to this, I presented on the summer research that I did focusing on arts- and place-based pedagogies. I enjoyed being surrounded by other preservice teachers and so many experienced educators who I could learn from.
ACUI Building Manager Seminar
(Sykes Union and Student Activities)
The Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Building Manager Seminar was my first experience of its kind. It was an invaluable experience that connected me with other undergraduate students who work in student unions and student centers just like me. The seminar taught me how to network and put myself out there and connect with other people with similar roles to my own. One of my personal favorite parts of the seminar was thinking about ways to take what I was learning and implement it into the student union where I work; this seminar helped teach me the importance of seeing what is working at other institutions and considering how to implement them at your own. I look forward to using this skill more and more as I attend more conferences in the future.
Summer Undergraduate Research Institute
(Office of Research and Sponsored Programs)
I participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute studying arts- and place-based pedagogies (APBP) and their purpose and effectiveness in the classroom. The research took place over five weeks and a great deal of it was done in a combined undergraduate and graduate course focused on APBP. We conducted interviews and a focus group, organized and coded the interviews for emerging themes, collected course artifacts, and reviewed relevant literature. I was able to effectively collate and organize the initial data from the pilot research data and present to peers, and other interested parties at the conclusion of the five week program.
West Chester University Legislative Breakfast
(College of Education and Social Work)
I had the honor and privilege to be selected by the Dean of the College of Education and Social Work as a student representative to participate in legislative advocacy with elected officials. We were primarily focused on advocating for additional funding from the state of Pennsylvania for education and social work programs.
National Association for Campus Activities National Conference 2023 (Student Activities Council)
As the incoming President of the Student Activities Council, I was selected to represent West Chester University at the national conference for the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), also known as NACA Live. At NACA Live, I looked for vendors, novelties, and performers that would enhance campus culture. My specific goal at this conference was to bring back exciting ideas for events while also keeping inclusivity in mind and thinking about how our events can be inclusive and fun for all students. NACA Live was a fun and unique experience that helped me meet and intereact with students from different universities and hear about what types of programming they were doing! This helped me even more when thinking about what we could implement at West Chester next year!
National Association for Campus Activities Northeast Regional Conference 2022 (Student Activities Council)
I was selected to represent West Chester at the regional conference for the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA). At NACA I looked for prospective vendors and performers that would events at the university more fun! It was also a great networking experience as I met many other students that are involved in student activities and got to ask them what they do at their colleges and universities to see if there was anything that we could implement at ours.
Pennsylvania Conference for Teachers of English and Language Arts Conference 2022 (National Council of Teachers of English)
The Pennsylvania Conference for Teachers of English and Language Arts was the first professional conference that I attended. I got to meet many experienced teachers and fellow preservice teachers. Furthermore, I saw many educational presentations on a variety of topics such as creativity in the classroom, young adult books on mental health, and even a way to have a participation-based graded classroom. I also had the honor of presenting at one of the round table discussions about the representation of minority groups in literary classics. In my presentation, I talked about how the current classroom literary canon is by and focuses on white people and provided alternative novels that provide the same lessons, themes, or concepts.