DECATUR, Ill. – Millikin University’s future teachers gathered in the University Commons on Tuesday, February 25, to practice their interview skills, ask questions, and develop professional networks with about 20 Big Blue alumni representing school districts across Illinois.
The School of Education seniors took part in a question-and-answer panel discussion with alumni, went through three 15-minute mock interview sessions, and picked up resume tips during the Interview Bootcamp. The students, who will soon be entering the job market, also had the opportunity to get headshots taken.
Many alumni interviewers were actively looking to fill positions in their respective schools. These interviews served the dual purpose of giving the new teachers interview experience and the administrators and principals access to some of the top teaching candidates in Central Illinois.
Speaking with the students before the interviews began, Dr. Chris Cunnings, Director of the School of Education, highlighted the unique opportunities the Interview Bootcamp provides them.
“I spoke to the alumni before this event, and I have to tell you they are very excited to meet you. I hyped you up and told them this is a pretty darn good group of student teachers. There are a lot of alumni that want to talk to pretty darn good student teachers, so this should be exciting,” Cunnings said. “(The School of Education) does a lot of events on an annual basis, and this is probably my favorite. It will allow you to network like you have never networked before. Our alumni love helping out Millikin students. They have networks and connections, and some are hiring for positions. This will be a great opportunity for you to start building your network.”
For senior Elementary Education major Sadie Baylis, the Bootcamp was the first morning this semester that she hadn’t been teaching her third-grade class at Pana Elementary School, where she is doing her student teaching this semester.
“I have the best co-op teacher. Her name is Beth King and she just won an award for teaching (Award of Special Recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)). I'm learning from the best is what I tell her,” Sadie said. “Pana has an amazing school district. They have special education teachers for each grade level, which I've never experienced. It's hard to find special education teachers, and we work closely with them. It’s a really great school district to absorb information and learn because, as a first-year teacher, you don't really learn those things in the classroom. Those are learned in real experiences.”
Sadie transferred to Millikin from Lake Land College after meeting with School of Education Associate Professor Dr. Hee Young Choi and learning more about the personalized curriculum the Elementary Education program offers.
“On my first day here, I remember talking to the faculty, and everybody had a smiling face. You can tell that they care about their job, which I think is important. Like they say, even if you had a bad day as a teacher, your students need you that day,” she said. “Whatever problems you have, park them out the door because your students depend on you. That's super important, and my college professors model it perfectly for me. I've learned much about my teaching strategies and how I should act in the classroom from them.”
Sadie has embraced the challenge of leading a class of 21 third graders at Pana Elementary, and she feels that Millikin’s programs have prepared her well for entering the classroom following her graduation in May.
“I feel like I was super prepared. Our teachers at Millikin are excellent, and I always say this is the best education school I could have chosen,” she said. “They help us with creating assessments. They hit every single core subject that we need to know. They make us feel confident in creating lesson plans. When I'm teaching, I know exactly what to do. They teach us that building a relationship with students is super important. When you're coming in, you know that you need to be close with the kids, but you never think that a relationship will change how they learn.”
After graduation, Sadie hopes to land a position teaching in Southern Illinois, and the mock interviews gave her the practice she needed.
“My interviewer said that interviewing is a skill and a skill is learned. It's just like teaching a skill that is learned. The best way that you can do that is by practicing,” Sadie said. “This made me feel much better about future interviews because I know how to teach. I know classroom management, but being asked about those things, you don't really talk about them as much as you're just doing them.”
