Dana Mitchell '08, a Wichita kindergarten teacher who says she "absolutely loves" the profession, is one of three recent grads featured in WSU's Do More. Be More. ad campaign showcasing the benefits of experienced-based learning.
"People I don't even know have told me, "I saw you on TV last night,'" she notes, adding that she hopes the ads steer students to the Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning Program, from which she so highly benefited.
Mitchell teaches at Spaght Multimedia Magnet Elementary School in Wichita. It's where she worked for six semesters through WSU's co-op ed program, gaining real-world experience, academic credit plus a paycheck. It's also where she went to school and, as a high school senior, tutored — an experience that helped her determine education, rather than social work, would be her career.
For her, the joy of teaching comes in seeing the growth of her students — physically, socially and intellectually. The fact that her kindergarteners are eager to learn adds to her enjoyment. "They want to come to school," she says. Of course, she does, too. Her enthusiasm for teaching her class of 24 students is obvious. "I'm excited about it every morning when I come here," she says.
