Hometown
Woodruff, Wisconsin
Undergraduate degree and university
Bachelor of Music Education, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Employer
School District of Florence County; Florence, Wisconsin
Job title
7th-12th Grade Music Teacher and Driver’s Education Teacher
What drew you to pursue a master’s degree from UW–Madison?
Since I was a high school student, it had always been a goal of mine to attend UW-Madison. While that was not the path I ended up taking for my undergraduate degree, when I started looking into graduate programs, UW was the first place I looked. As soon as I learned about the WIPP program, the rigor and experience it provided, and the flexibility of it being fully online, I knew this is exactly the program I was looking for.
What was your most meaningful experience/impactful class or faculty member during your time with the WIPP program?
I would be lying if I said it was easy to pick just one class, experience, or faculty member because each course I took, each person I engaged with, and each experience I had only added to the positive experience I had in the WIPP cohort. However, if I had to pick just one, ELPA 770 was a very enjoyable course, as it allowed us to truly dig into community engagement and how best to make connections with stakeholders in your district, which is something I enjoy greatly. And as far as a faculty member, it would have to be Dr. Tina Salzman. Dr. Salzman was incredibly supportive of all of us in the cohort, making every effort needed to ensure we were prepared and successful as we worked through the program. She is an excellent advisor and the perfect person to be the lead of the WIPP cohort.
What skills did you learn about and have you found most useful? Can you describe them and how they’ve helped you?
I was unaware of the extent of the impact of inequitable outcomes in the school setting. Working in a rural school, our staff tends to think discussions surrounding equity, bias, and race do not apply, but I learned very quickly how even in small schools, biases and inequities exist and must be managed. Throughout the WIPP coursework, I was able to develop processes and systems through course projects which trained me how to uncover and approach these inequities and how to manage them through shared leadership between administration, staff, and community stakeholders. These projects are designed in such a way that they can be implemented on day one as a school leader, making them even more impactful. It is not just busy work; it is the actual work school leaders must be doing on a daily basis.
What advice do you have for someone who is pursuing this degree?
The WIPP cohort at UW Madison is an excellent principal preparation program for teachers looking to take that next step into school leadership, and anyone looking for a graduate program should look no further. Once in the program, just remember to keep up on the assignments and reading. Pace yourself, set a reading and work schedule and stick to it, and remember that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The work can seem daunting at times, but the dividends it pays are well worth it.
Anything else that’s important about yourself or your studies that you want to share?
Thank you to Dr. Salzman, the ELPA department, and everyone at UW-Madison who took a chance on me for this program. I sure hope to go forth and make everyone proud and put the lessons I learned in the WIPP program into practice, doing the work to ensure the most equitable and meaningful educational outcomes for the students in my district.