For my practicum, I chose to TA for ENGL101H. I took ENGL388V, a 4-credit class, as part of the practicum. The section I was assigned was with the professor who I took the class with last spring. It was a MWF class, but only had two synchronous meetings a week. My weekly responsibilities included attending those meetings and grading the asynchronous work from Friday classes. I would help lead classes and even designed my own lesson plans to deliver. The TAs and my professor also had biweekly meetings to plan and make sure the class was on track. In addition, I edited student drafts and provided general support for any questions. ENGL388V, made up of other ENGL101 and ENGL39X TAs, met once a week for ninety minutes. During the class, we would discuss various readings that had been assigned for that week’s discussion board. About halfway through the semester, we split into groups and started student-led discussion that was structured roughly the same way. We had the opportunity to talk about a variety of topics including responding to student writing and barriers to education.

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I could not possibly begin to name everything I learned in my practicum experience. I have changed so much as both a teacher and a student. This perspective has caused me to look at almost every single one of my classes differently. While I had previous teaching experience before this, I am so much more confident leading classes. I used to get nervous when I ran the class, but now I jump right in to lead. It is much easier to do this now that I know my students much better. Being more than a block on the screen makes the class much more effective. I have changed as a student because I now know what it is like from the other side. Before I was a TA, I had many teachers say that exams were not the point, they were just ways to measure learning. I even had a professor who encouraged us to look at exams that way to be less intimidated by them. It took being a TA for me to actually adopt this view for myself. I am much more concerned with what I learn overall instead of individual grades on assignments. This is not to say that I do not care about grades anymore, but I have shifted my focus, and it has been a positive change for my studying.

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For my artifacts, I would actually like to upload three separate assignments that I submitted as a part of ENGL388V. The first is a Learning Log from the very beginning of the semester as I was starting in my TA position. The second is another Learning Log later in the semester. Finally, the third is a Synthesis, a slight departure from the Learning Logs, but still a similar type of assignment, that allowed us to reflect on the semester as a whole. I chose to highlight all three because I think they collectively demonstrate my growth throughout the semester. I became so much more comfortable in this leadership role as the semester went on. As I mentioned above, I also believe I am becoming a better student as a result. Finally, interacting with faculty on a more regular basis has allowed me to get much more familiar with professional relationships, as I did not have much experience with that before this semester.

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In the immediate future, I am continuing to TA for the spring semester. I am eager to grow even more and hopefully take on more responsibility than this semester. The skills I have gotten from this position are so valuable for the rest of my time at the University of Maryland and in my professional future. I believe that strong written communication is so important in any career, and being a TA constantly pushes me to improve my writing. 

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My updated resume can be found here.

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Throughout my time in Public Leadership, I have learned so much. I can name leadership theories off the top of my head, but I can also give practical examples for how I can employ them in my own life. I have a deep understanding of my own personal leadership style. I had the opportunity to examine classism, racism, and sexism and their effects on leadership in CPPL100. In the following semester, I had the chance to apply the skills I learned in the grant-making process. In this year’s colloquium, I have continued to deepen my understanding of topics in leadership, specifically group dynamics and conflict management. Through my practicum, I have again had the practical application of leadership skills. Also, my practicum was structured in such a way that I could invest as much time into it as I wanted, to an extent. For instance, my professor was happy to include lesson plans I created, but did not set mandatory minimums for what I contributed. I am happy to say that I feel like I put in a fair amount, and got so much in return.

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My time in Public Leadership can be so relevant for my future career goals. I feel like this program can be applicable to virtually any career, but for my hopeful career in policy, policymakers are often seen as leaders. Knowing that I will be in this position, having strong leadership skills sets me up for success in this area. My communication skills are stronger, which is useful within the policy team as well as with ensuring that the community feels represented. My emotional intelligence has improved, which is crucial for being able to survive the long, grueling hours of political campaigning. Overall, my time in Public Leadership has been hugely valuable for my future professional career.