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After twelve years in the corporate world, Robin Hollis was
ready to return to the classroom - as a teacher.
It hit her while vacationing in Europe with her husband.
"Every time I thought about what I really wanted to do, it was
teaching," she said.
Robin knew she wanted to earn her master's and her teaching
certification while maintaining her position in the marketing
department at CheckFree, where she's worked since 2001.
Oglethorpe's program was a perfect match. "This is where I
need to be," she said after discovering the Master of Arts in
Teaching program. "I love the approach, the philosophy and my
colleagues. The opportunity to learn in an extremely small class
size environment has made my education truly personal, from the
perspective of one-to-one interaction with my professors and my
fellow classmates."
In consultation with Dr. Beth Roberts, the program's
director, Robin was able to fit the coursework into a part-time
schedule. Even though taking two classes per semester gave Robin
a busy schedule, she realized in her final year that the hustle
was worthwhile.
"Though my schedule is quite exhausting, my love for the MAT
program and my inner knowledge that teaching is my calling drive
me to succeed," she said. This summer, she worked from 7:00 a.m.
until 3:30 p.m., came to campus for classes from 4:00 until 7:30
p.m. then did her homework until 11:00 p.m. "My husband's been
very supportive," she said.
Many evenings and weekends throughout the program were spent
preparing projects, presentations and lesson plans, all skills
that will help after graduation. "Everything we do in class and
outside of class has real-life application for our future
classrooms," said Robin. "Through our presentations, we also
educate and prepare each other regarding various pedagogical
practices and educational developments and issues. We will leave
this program prepared to start teaching."
Robin enjoyed an art course she took last summer, learning
not only artistic methods and processes, but also about the
cultural perspectives behind projects. She has also enjoyed the
language arts courses, which gave her the chance to return to
young adult fiction by reading many Newbery Medal winning books.
In her field experiences, Robin again gained respect for the
Oglethorpe program. "My host teachers have been impressed with
my program's depth and relevance. In fact, my host teacher from
last semester requested that I do my student teaching practicum
in her classroom. This was a huge compliment and testament to my
OU education," she said. "I have seen first-hand the outstanding
reputation the Oglethorpe MAT program has in the field."
"I really like marketing and what I do; however, at the end of the day, I don't feel like I'm contributing to the greater good and getting true personal value out of what I do," Robin said. "That's why I decided to go into teaching."
Learn more about Oglethorpe's Master of Arts in Teaching - Early Childhood Education Program.
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