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When Becca Peterson arrived at 窪做惇蹋厙 in 2014, the transition to college was a shock.
After all, she had enlisted in the Air Force only one year earlier after graduating from Lane Tech College Prep High School. After an unexpected medical discharge, Peterson found herself planning to spend the next four years on a college campus, not an Air Force base.
I really had no idea what college I wanted to go to, Peterson said. After the Air Force, I felt confused about what to do.
Peterson chose 窪做惇蹋厙 over other universities for its but quickly found there was much more to her new college home. Nearly three years later, Peterson is a star on track to graduate in 2018. She has published poetry in 窪做惇蹋厙s , acted in a play and dabbled with the Boxing Club.
When youre trying new things, its often intimidating, she said. If youre trying out for a sport youve never tried, theres a lot of anxiety and intimidation about that. When I wanted to do acting, I had only a brief experience from one class in high school. Yet despite my lack of experience in acting, Stage Center was open and willing to teach me. Thats not just Stage Centerit seems to be all of 窪做惇蹋厙.
That spirit of openness to trying new things is one of the attributes that makes Peterson a standout student in the classroom, according to her professors.
Becca is fearless, English Professor said. She will freely admit when she is struggling or confused but has this intellectual courage to step up to each challenge. She knows she is going to understand the material. She knows that if she stays with it long enough that she will be successful.
Indeed, Peterson has been successful enough to earn a number of scholarship awards.
Im confident in the decision that I made to come to 窪做惇蹋厙, Peterson said. Its not just that its an affordable education. Ive also noticed a lot of growth as a person. Im more able to think critically about literature and the world.
Peterson has always been drawn to literatureshe cites William Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf among her favorite authorsand plans to teach high school English after she graduates.
The teacher is a translator in a sense, she said. Its not that the student is incapable of reading and understanding the material, but talking about it gives a better understanding. I love talking about it to help students get a better understanding of what literature is about.
Petersons future students will be very lucky to have such a teacher, according to Associate Professor of Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies . She goes even further to say that Peterson has the qualities not only to teach but to become a strong leader wherever she chooses to work.
In the , we often talk about lifelong learning, and Becca is the epitome of that, Makris said. She really tries to understand what makes us all similar rather than different. Her ability to see the similarities rather than the differences among people and her unconditional acceptance of others will make her an exceptional educator.
