Student Profile
Catrina Carpenter
Elementary Education Major,
Class of 2007
Jerffersonville, Vt.
Catrina Carpenter says that, like many college students, she wasn't always certain about what she wanted to do for a career. She came to Johnson State College planning to be a teacher, but then had moments where she thought she might pursue another major. In the end, though, she says, "I went back to wanting to be a teacher." And Johnson State has been a great place for Catrina to follow through on that desire. She will graduate in the spring of 2007 with a degree in elementary education and a minor in psychology.
Not only is JSC a small, caring community and close to Catrina's home in Jeffersonville - two qualities that are important to her - but it also has an education faculty that she knows by name. "You truly get to know your professors, and they get to know you," she says. Additionally, Catrina has been impressed by the flexibility JSC offers her. "It has offered me a flexible class schedule, giving me the ability to work and go to school."
After graduation, Catrina plans to work in education. "Whether as a classroom teacher or someone who helps children with special needs," she says, "my hope is to be able to stay locally in Vermont."
To accomplish this, she has focused on getting as wide a range of training at JSC as possible. She explains that "as an educator, it is important to be well rounded in working with students that have a variety of needs. I want to leave my options open as far as getting a job in the field of education." But perhaps the most important thing, Catrina says, is that "whether I work with 'typical' children or children with special needs, I will enjoy my profession."