There were several moments at AU that changed my life and helped shape me into the person I am today. It all started with a senior in high school (me) trying to decide where to go to college. I had my visit at AU and the instant I stepped foot on campus, the students were smiling and saying hi to me. I didn’t even know these people because I lived three hours away and had no ties or connections to the school. Two faculty members stopped me on my tour and asked what I was interested in doing at AU, and they made sure I knew my options as they added an unrehearsed blurb to the tour guide’s tour. At that moment, I remember looking at my mom and saying, “This is where I want to be. I feel like they care.” And so my story began in 2008 and I have never looked back or questioned my decision to be at AU.
I’ll start with Mrs. Rinenart. She inspired me and pushed me to understand the importance of education and children in today’s world. She cried with us, made us think more in-depth than ever before, and there were several days she would have her husband, Dr. Rinehart, bring us donuts and drinks. She invested in us, made us all promise to keep in touch and tell her what we were doing after college, and it’s all because she cared. She genuinely cared about each one of us.
There were many laughs, many hands-on activities like digging for fossils in the mulch area, and other mini field trips in her class. And, because of her, the passion for teaching still burns within me and I want my students to experience the love and genuine care I felt. Because of her, I have landed a 4th grade teaching position and have been teaching since the day I graduated. She opened doors. She empowered me to be all that I could be. In the end, it is a small world. Right after college, my first teaching job was working with small groups of students to improve skills they may need more help with. In one of my groups of students, I had the privilege to work with Mrs. Rinehart’s grandson. He reminded me of her often, and for that I’m grateful that I had her as one of my professors. I truly learned from the best.
