Julia Rose, MAT, USF Sacramento
We are excited to shared our latest student spotlight featuring Julia Rose! Julia is a student in the University of San Francisco – Sacramento Campus Master of Arts in Teaching + Teaching Credential (MAT) program. In this blog post, Julia discusses her background in STEM and how previous teachers have inspired her to give back as an educator in the field!
Talk about your journey leading up to USF Sacramento. What inspired you to pursue the MAT and your Teaching Credential?
Hi, my name is Julia and I am pursuing a Master’s in Education with a single subject science credential. I want to teach life science and chemistry! I have always loved going to school, and valued my teachers growing up. Many of my teachers pushed me out of my comfort zone and believed in me even when I was unsure of myself. I naturally fell in love with science and am a huge science nerd to this day. My science teachers were all strong female role models that I looked up to. I am thankful to them for encouraging me to enter a STEM field even though I had hesitations as a woman. After I finished my undergraduate degree I realized that my true passion has always been teaching, and I had always been drawn to helping my classmates and those around me. I chose to come to the University of San Francisco so that I could help inspire the next generation of critical thinkers and leaders both inside and outside the classroom.
What are you looking forward to about student teaching this summer and what skills are you hoping to demonstrate in the classroom?
I am really looking forward to working with a classroom teacher that has been teaching science in the classroom for a while and learning from them. I am excited to see how they structure labs and incorporate real life events into their curriculum. I am hoping to build my skills in lesson planning and getting my students engaged. Specifically, I want my students to become more observant and excited about the world around them. I have a lot of ideas of how to connect the real world around them to the classroom, and am excited to demonstrate that!
What projects or hobbies are you passionate about outside of teaching?
Outside of teaching I am a very outdoorsy person. I love running, swimming, hiking, and gardening. While originally a swimmer at heart, I equally love running (a very controversial opinion, I know). You can find me running around Davis and dodging bikers. One day I hope to run a marathon, but I’m nowhere close to that point! Besides spending time outside, I enjoy spending time with friends and watching Gilmore Girls.
What class has been the most interesting and enlightening so far during your time in the program?
I have enjoyed my Academic Literacy class the most so far. It really pushed me to think how I can as a single subject teacher help my students build academic literacy. We spent a lot of time as a class reminiscing over childhood books and what books engaged us. It honestly made me fall in love with the power of reading all over again. The class was specifically enlightening, because for the final project I was able to create a lesson that incorporated methods to help build reading skills for my students. I chose to follow a science topic that I was really passionate about and was able to create a lesson centering science, world politics, and reading skills.
If you could give one piece of advice to incoming students, what would it be?
My biggest piece of advice is to go into the program with an open mind. I have definitely grown my understanding of what it means to be a teacher in our current society and how I can serve my students. I would also recommend going into the program with an open mind, because you are growing and learning with your cohort. I have learned so much from my classmates, and I am so grateful for their unique perspectives on teaching. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help, because everyone here wants to support you!
On behalf of the USF Sacramento Team, we would like to thank Julia for sharing her story with us. We can’t wait to see where her career takes her and check back in for an Alumni Spotlight!
