Story Last Updated: May 2016 Current Position Updated: March 2019
Kelly Lare was working at a physical therapy office when she decided she wanted to make a career change. After spending six years coaching soccer, Lare realized her true passion was teaching others. It had been ten years since she studied for a test or wrote a paper so between working full-time and going back to school, Lare had to find the perfect fit.
Lare chose GMercyU's New Teacher Certification program because it served her three biggest needs: quality reputation, convenience and affordability.
"I was narrowing [my choices] down and GMercyU had a very convenient program, all online. I was able to continue working, complete my assignments and pay for it without worrying," Lare said.
When it came time to take the skills she learned in her courses and apply it in her student-teaching placement, Lare felt she was more than ready.
The program gave me all of the tools that I would need because a lot of the assignments had to do with different technologies and building lessons from the ground up," Lare said. "I became more comfortable and confident in how to prepare.
Lare student-taught at Erdenheim Elementary School in Flourtown, Pa. Alongside her cooperating teacher Jeffrey Glazer, Lare developed lesson plans and used the knowledge she learned at GMercyU to teach her students.
"I think Kelly came well prepared and mature. Kelly has a great work ethic. I think she came with a really solid foundation of best practices, knowledge of technology, and really up-to-date components that you need to start in this profession," Glazer said. "I felt like a lot of days I was Kelly's co-pilot rather than she my co-pilot."
While Lare felt confident going into her student-teaching placement, there was one aspect of the profession she didn't have experience with until she was in the classroom.
One thing I didn't realize was how much teachers think on their feet and have to acclimate to different plans and adjust to make sure the students' schedule isn't thrown off. Teachers have to be able to adjust on the fly and create an educational environment that is conducive for learning.
It may have been a long journey for Lare to find her true passion but the long days and early mornings were worth it.
"I definitely felt that going back to college after ten years out of school was a daunting task," Lare said. "How am I going to get back into reading text and studying? I felt that the online program was a great segue. I was able to completely get through all of the courses on my own time."
