As many of us noticed this past Wednesday, we were sad to leave some of our classes!!! Sad to leave an educational environment!!! When does that ever happen??? I have never been sad to leave class...ever!

We have all been in classes with hundreds of people where the professor lectures for the whole class period. We have been in classes with many people that we have never spoken to because we never had the opportunity, but the education program has been quite the opposite. Our classes are very small and we have the same people in most of our classes. This has helped to create a trusting network and we are able to help each other out when we need it. I have never been more engaged in my classes or more enthusiastic about the material until this semester.

From my professors and classmates, I have learned the most valuable lesson of all. This lesson cannot be found in a textbook, or an Internet site, or from a research article…it was found in the network I luckily fell into. I am certain that not many students can say that they have had as close of a network as the Undergraduate Elementary Education class of 2008. I am so blessed to have my classmates cheer me on when I am teaching a lesson, to have professors say, “You are intelligent and I believe you will change someone’s life for the better,” and to have my peers as well as professors encourage my creativity and help me flourish as an educator. If I have gained anything at all from this semester, it is a tremendous gain in confidence that comes from people truly believing in you. I look forward to having this network in the future as a constant stream of support.