When Raina started at Illinois, she thought her fun and creative spirit meant the arts was where she belonged. But she found herself missing something in her major, eventually realizing she could use her artistic skills as a full time educator, making the College of Education her new home.
Raina’s story reminds us all that as we start a new school year, it's okay to not have it all figured out. Trust yourself on your journey, and everything will work out for the best!
A little bit about Raina
Q. What is your major?
A. I'm a Junior studying Middle Grades Education with a Social Work Minor
Q: Where is home for you?
A. Evanston, Illinois
Q:What do you enjoy about your campus experience, so far?
A: The opportunities! Volunteering in Champaign middle schools and being able to join several RSOs has been super fun and a great way to enhance my leadership skills.
Q: How did you know you wanted to go into the field of education?
A: I was originally an art major but something just didn't connect. I couldn't stop thinking about my campers and how much I missed being a camp counselor and that's when I decided I needed to be working as an educator full-time.
Q: What do you enjoy about the College of Education?
A. It would be a tie between the hands-on experiences the College of Ed has given me and the friendliest and kindest people I've met through my education classes.
Q: Do you have a favorite professor, or course? Why?
A: My TA from EDUC 202, Alexandria, made the class super fun and positive! She wanted to learn more about us and made sure we did a check-in on how we were doing every single class period.
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
A:I have worked at a performing arts camp the last four summers and love theater.
Q: Tell us about your future career plans after graduating and why you want to pursue that field.
A: After graduating I plan on being a middle school english teacher in IL where I will be coming up with creative and fun projects where my students will be able to connect the material learned from class into their own personal lives and unique cultures.
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