After volunteering with the Peace Corps in Ukraine for three
years, St. John’s graduate student Steven Senteney returned to the
United States with a new direction in life.
Steven’s service with the Peace Corps began in 2003, after a friend
who had also joined the Peace Corps urged him to volunteer, “I
always wanted to travel and work abroad to learn about another
culture, so it was perfect timing for me. Living and working in
Ukraine was a wonderful experience. I volunteered as an ESL
instructor and taught students from the fourth grade through high
school how to read and write English. Although it was my first
teaching experience, I fell in love with it.”
It was then that Steven decided he would become a teacher. Steven
enrolled in St. John’s School of Education’s career change program.
With an undergraduate degree in recreation from Southern Illinois
University-Carbondale, Steven needed a graduate education program
with a great reputation designed specifically for individuals who
were not education majors in college – St. John’s offered him
both.
“The career change program has been a great experience - the class
sizes are perfect and the faculty at The School of Education are
wonderful. Any time I have a question or need help from my
professors or staff at the University, they help me in any way that
they can. I know that everything I’m learning will be helpful to me
in my future career as an educator.”
Once he graduates with his master’s in education in 2010, Steven
plans to teach elementary school children. His previous experiences
working with students at this grade level prepared him to work with
students at this age. “I find students at this grade level to be
the most fun to work with. When they finally understand something
that I have taught them, it is one of the most satisfying feelings
in the world.”
Steven believes an education from St. John’s is essential for a
successful career in education, “The skills that I have been
taught, the examples that I have been given by my instructors –
these are the things that will help me become a better
teacher.”