Student and alumni profiles

Meet a few of our M.Ed. and licensure students

Art education

Christian Blanck

initial licensure student

I am from Minneapolis and a product of the Minneapolis public schools. After receiving a B.A. in art and religion from Macalester, I spent a few years exploring different possibilities for my future. I have been exposed to different segments of the art world: galleries and dealers, community art programs, private art school, and studio production. However, I have found the most energizing and genuine art experience for me is to be in a classroom with kids, exploring art together. I decided to become an art educator and entered the initial licensure program at the University of Minnesota.

I have a lot of experience with clay and have always known that it will be a central part of my teaching career. My student teaching placement was chosen for me with my passion in mind. I am working in a ceramics classroom with a talented and engaging teacher who loves the students and what she is teaching. It is a wonderful experience and has been a strong affirmation of why I am pursuing my license in art education.

The unique program design of the University of Minnesota allows to me to start work on my M.Ed. while still pursuing my initial teaching certification. After I receive my Minnesota teaching license, a year of teaching and a mere six credits will grant me my M.Ed. in art education.

Dana Sullivan

M.Ed./professional studies student

I currently teach elementary art (K-5) at WestWood Elementary School in Prior Lake and plan to continue my teaching career in the Prior Lake – Savage School District after I complete my M.Ed. in art education. As a working wife and mother, I needed to pursue studies in a program that would be flexible with my unique scheduling needs. Additionally, I wanted the courses tailored more to my particular interests in technology integration, aesthetics, and adaptive art. I’m so happy I made the choice to study at the University of Minnesota. Getting my graduate degree from the U of M has been challenging, yet manageable.

My faculty adviser, Dr. Faith Clover, has been supportive and encouraging during my graduate experience at the U of M. She is extremely knowledgeable and has been instrumental in bringing a variety of courses and experts in the field to the Art Education Department. I have had the opportunity to take many courses I would’ve never had the chance to take if I’d been doing my graduate work elsewhere.

There were many opportunities for me to do research in areas of interest during my time at the U of M. All of these experiences helped prepare me for my final research project, which I am working on right now. I took CI 5177: Practical Research in the spring. This intense course guided me on choosing a research topic, forming a research question, reviewing relevant literature, and actually conducting research in my classroom.

Being a graduate student has motivated me to think about more aspects of my teaching in a deeper way. I have many areas I intend to explore and research after my M.Ed. is complete. I truly believe in being a lifelong learner and my experiences at the University of Minnesota have encouraged me to continue in my studies.

Family and consumer sciences

Heidi Johnson

graduate, licensure recertification

Centennial School District

I currently teach middle school family and consumer science (FACS) for students in grades 6-8. This year, I had the special honor of being designated as Centennial School District Teacher of the Year.

I have been a FACS teacher for sixteen years, teaching seventh and eighth grade students. With new laws in certification, I needed to get recertified to teach the sixth grade students. The University of Minnesota offered the right courses at convenient times so I could continue teaching my sixth grade students.

I was pleasantly surprised by the recertification courses. The classes, in my opinion, were based on best practices. They were rewarding, fun, and helped me reflect on my practice. The structure of the classes provided me with many ideas that I could immediately apply in my own classroom.

There were also opportunities to learn from other colleagues built into the structure of the courses. I was in a small group working on differentiating learning for some of our students whom have special needs. Even after the course was completed, some of my small group members still keep in contact with me via e-mails, sharing curricular ideas and stories of what actually works in our classrooms.

After completing my M.Ed. in family and consumer sciences in 2006, I have been teaching at the Osseo Learning Center in Brooklyn Park, Minn. The faculty at the University of Minnesota prepared me well to face the challenges of teaching.

The courses were relevant, practical, and thought provoking. In many of our content-oriented classes, we worked both individually and in small groups to design curriculum units. In one specific class, we developed six different units—three individually and three within a small group. During the process we went through many peer-review presentations to gain feedback and explore how we can develop the best curriculum to fit a variety of learners. Working with other students in a small group has been very helpful in learning how to collaborate and develop curriculum from multiple perspectives. You seldom stand alone as an educator and will be expected to develop a variety of learning tools and assessments for a diverse set of learners with other educators in your field or in your department. Having the opportunity to develop curriculum with others, while pursuing a degree, is an asset that is hard to dismiss when applying for positions.

The University of Minnesota prepares one well to become a great educator. Most people claim that the first year of teaching is about survival, but my experience prepared me well for my first year. I am confident that I can handle whatever happens to cross my path. In my first year, I have been writing grants, contacting presenters, and writing curriculum for my four preps.

I am very fortunate to have the support of the staff and my co-workers and incredible students from whom I am pushed each day to become a better facilitator of learning.

Second languages and culture

Ryan Wahlberg

initial licensure student

After I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in English in 2001, I taught English in Kanazawa, Japan for three years. On returning to Minnesota, I have worked as a teacher at a YWCA childcare center in St. Paul and as a City of Lakes AmeriCorps tutor/mentor at an elementary school in North Minneapolis. At that school, I taught everything from fifth grade literacy skills to Korean drumming and leadership. My experience with children and English teaching has brought me back to the University to finally get the license, get the knowledge, and get the first hand experience of teaching ESL in Minnesota’s public schools.

Before living abroad, I didn’t know what culture was. After moving to Japan, I was fascinated by it. By immersing myself in culture and studying world religions, I began to form a teaching philosophy based on the idea of peace and change: change is possible for anyone; prejudices are all too real and must be abandoned in order for there to be peace in our neighborhoods and in our world. Though our cultures, languages, and values are different, we are the same. I can’t ignore how I am white middle class American, but I can be aware about how I affect people and how I can stop discrimination and empower my diverse immigrant students to realize that this America is as much theirs as it is the sons and daughters of white privilege.

The most enriching aspect of being a SLC student at the University of Minnesota is the cohort. We are very open with each other and share each other’s opinions freely in class. In class, we rarely have enough time to discuss and debate all we want, so discussions pour into the hallways. Our personalities are varied; our backgrounds are diverse. The relationships made between cohort members this year will be a precious asset to all the members throughout their teaching careers.

Tasha Vogt

graduate, M.Ed. and additional licensure

Spanish teacher, Hopkins High School

I came to the SLC program to receive an additional license in K-12 Spanish after receiving countless recommendations from colleagues. I couldn’t be more pleased with my choice from the very beginning. I was particularly impressed with the way that so many accommodations were made for me. I felt they bent over backwards for me to get the licensure that I was seeking in the fastest way possible. Now I’m close to finishing the M.Ed.

Social studies

Revised August 2007