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Please meet Sandra Kindschi! She is an alumna as well as a current graduate student in the School of Education, and is working towards her master\u2019s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.<\/p>\n
Sandy is an international student from Switzerland. She came to Virginia in 2016, working as an au pair. She loved the area and her job so much that she decided to go to school here. When she started teaching at a high school, she knew she wanted to stay in the area. Upon graduation, Sandy hopes to return to the same high school, employed as a licensed teacher with a graduate degree (MEd).<\/p>\n
Community college was Sandy\u2019s first experience in higher education in the US. She completed her first two years at a local community college and saw that Marymount worked closely with them. MU was always present on campus during fairs and the representatives were open and honest about the University\u2019s offerings and about the faculty. Once she saw the campus and met with the admissions team, she knew she wanted to come here to finish her undergraduate degree.<\/p>\n
Student teaching is a requirement for undergraduate students pursuing licensure with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students teach in a classroom as a student teacher during the last semester of their program. They have an on-site supervisor or mentor as well as a University assigned faculty member who observes and helps guide the student through the semester. Sandy states that her experiences as a student teacher affected her immensely as an educator and a person. She actually taught one class on her own (German) while doing her student teaching in English (Seniors Honors) with a seasoned teacher. Sandy learned so much from her mentor about being an educator, and they continue to be close friends.<\/p>\n
Recently, Sandy presented online for the Autism Program (\u201cTAP\u201d) of America – Northern Virginia chapter. The presentation was on emotions \u2014 how to decipher them, what each of them may mean, etc. Sandy knew that she needed to connect with the participants and build rapport as a foundation \u2013 she knew this from teaching. She was then able to begin online role-playing involving different high-emotions-scenarios. Her presentation got great reviews from the participants and the board members alike. In fact, they\u2019ve asked her back to talk about conflict resolution. Sandy loves making a difference in people\u2019s lives, and hearing that her workshop was valuable to them thrilled her.<\/p>\n
The most valuable part of Sandy\u2019s time at Marymount was \u201chands down\u201d the final semester of her undergraduate program when was student teaching. While her courses at Marymount prepared her well for the classroom, Sandy says \u201cthere is something so valuable about having a teacher of 20+ years showing you how it\u2019s done.\u201d She benefitted from seeing her mentor teacher\u2019s well-oiled routine and could visualize what she might do differently. In addition, her mentor teacher made sure that Sandy communicated effectively and professionally with students, parents, colleagues and the school\u2019s administration. \u00a0Sandy says the ability to communicate is key, and her student teaching experience fine-tuned her skills. To sum up her student teaching time, she says: \u201cI loved every minute of it and felt well prepared to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
We know Sandy will be successful wherever she decides to teach after graduating from Marymount. She truly is a rising star in the world of Education here in Northern Virginia!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Please meet Sandra Kindschi! She is an alumna as well as a current graduate student in the School of Education, and is working towards her master\u2019s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Sandy is an international student from Switzerland. She came to Virginia in 2016, working as an au pair. She loved the area and her […]<\/p>\n