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Megan Mills is Learning about Urban Education

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MEGAN MILLS

Elementary Education | School of Education | 2017

Where is UMKC taking you?

It’s allowing me to be an athlete and get a degree at the same time, which is really cool.

Why did you choose UMKC?

I fell in love with the people in the education program. The type of people here are the type of people I want to become. I want to teach and inspire kids as an upper elementary school teacher. I want to work in inner city schools to help give kids the opportunity to feel important, helping them build confidence to feel successful and be able to achieve their goals.

How has college inspired you?           

College had inspired me in all the ways in which people come together as a community to learn. When people get excited about learning and passionate about something they are going to spend the rest of their lives doing, it makes me feel like people are doing things for the right reasons. Too often people go into their majors because of money or their parents, but when people do something that makes them want to make a difference, it inspires me to continue aspiring to become something bigger and better!

Since entering college, what have you learned about yourself?

I’ve learned a lot about myself since entering college. Mostly that I really like my sleep when I can get it! But I have learned that anything you want in life, anything, simply comes when you work hard and put yourself out to people. Working hard every single day can sometimes be hard when other factors come into play, but when you make an effort to always strive towards something, you’ll become excited about it and that excitement will turn to passion and that passion will turn into making a change.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received from a professor?

The best piece of advice I was given from a professor was to keep working at something and you’ll do great things. He brought a newspaper clipping to class showing the top 10 needed jobs in the U.S. right now. The poll showed nursing as first and education as second. He told me that it was really important that I keep staying on the path of education. It was really cool too because he taught a general education geography course, he wasn’t even an education professor.

Who do you admire most at UMKC?

I admire the types of people at UMKC. Everyone who I have met has been kind and willing to help out. I find that since we go to such a diverse school, we learn to become a community and work with one another. It’s really cool to see that and feel like you’re in an atmosphere in which you’re welcome no matter what your gender, race, religion or sexuality. To me, that’s really awesome because sometimes even the real world isn’t that inviting.

What’s your greatest fear?

I don’t know if this really applies to anything, but I really fear being alone my whole life. I love to be surrounded by people and I’m not much of an introvert. I like to connect with people and potentially not having friends, family or one day a significant other really scares me!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years, I see myself doing one of two things. One, I am still teaching and loving every minute of it, or two, I am in administration in elementary education, potentially a principal. In addition to that, I hope to still be running and to live somewhere beautiful with a lot of land. Anywhere that is out in the country works for me.

What is one word that best describes you?

Passionate. I’m very passionate about the things in my life and the people that are a part of it. I love running and education. Those are the two things that I could talk for hours about. I believe that I put myself fully into those two things and that I love them. Without loving something, what are you doing it for?

What motto do you live by?

Hard work will always take you places. I’ve made gains academically — I was able to come to school because of good grades. I’m on the Cross Country team — hard work has helped improve my strength as an athlete and has made me a stronger team member.

 


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