把握未来

Looking to advance her education and open new doors, Abby Davis ’25 MSEd was drawn to the master’s program at 皇冠体育.  

Prior to getting her master’s, Abby received her Bachelor of 艺术 in elementary education at the University of Iowa with endorsements in reading (K-8) and ELL (English Language Learner, K-12). 在2020年毕业后，她被聘为锡达拉皮兹的加菲尔德小学，在那里她担任了四年的ELL、幼儿园、一年级和二年级教师。  

现在是她的第五个年头，她目前在Trailside小学工作，这是锡达拉皮兹社区学区两所最古老的学校的组合，加菲尔德是其中之一。 Although Abby has only worked at Trailside for a year, she’s enjoyed every second—from the hardworking staff always looking to do what’s best for the kids to the diverse population of students that she learns from every day.  

Trailside小学给了她支持和鼓励学生的机会，同时也培养了远远超出课堂的关系。  

Going back to July of 2023, Abby decided that she was ready to further her own education and set off to get her master’s at Mount Mercy. 皇冠体育吸引她的地方是学费便宜，离她教书的地方很近，最后，这个项目完全是在线的，考虑到她刚刚生了孩子，这非常有吸引力。  

“The flexibility that came with having classes online made it a lot easier to be a grad student at Mount Mercy while also attending to my newborn and being a full-time teacher,” she explained.  

要兼顾艾比必须兼顾的所有事情需要付出很多努力，但她感谢仁慈山和她周围的村民在她参加这个项目期间给予她的不断支持和鼓励。  

Over the course of pursuing her master’s, Abby nearly doubled her professional network. 她特别提到了道恩·贝汉博士，研究生教育项目主任，教授，她的研究生导师，谁帮助她找到成功和专业成长。  

“I know I can personally call upon any of my professors or colleagues from this program when I have a question or need some guidance,” she explained. “我们在这个项目中建立的关系将持续很长时间。”

在Trailside， Abby扮演了多个角色。 She’s a kindergarten teacher, the PBIS tier one leader, and is also on the leadership team. Before she completed her master’s, a lot of these positions were already set in place. Completing her master’s degree has helped Abby be more effective in these positions whether that’s communicating with people on those leadership teams or advocating for various needs.  

“The master’s program has really just helped me grow professionally in ways that I can continue to lead and practice the skills I already had developed,” Abby said. 

With the knowledge and expertise she has gained from the master’s program, Abby is ready to take the next step in her career and says she hopes to eventually become an instructional coach or principal.  

For anyone looking to pursue their master’s degree with Mount Mercy, Abby said this:  

“Lean on the people in the program, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and make connections with both your peers and professors because those are going to be the people that you will lean on in the future.”