Hunter Werts wasn't sure he wanted to be a teacher. When he first came to the College, he was so busy taking classes and working a 30-hour-a week job that he felt overwhelmed much of the time. Then, he learned about scholarship possibilities for secondary education majors and his world changed.
"I started out concentrating on the sciences," he says. "At some point, it hit me that I was actually teaching my friends and roommates all the time. I taught them Spanish or biology or some concept related to their classes. I realized that if I could teach college students, it shouldn't be hard to make the transition to teaching high school."
Though biology is Hunter's main academic interest, his degree will qualify him for certification to teach a broad range of high school science courses. "The way the College prepares you, you end up ready to teach physics, chemistry, physical science or biology. All those are included because, for this degree, you have to take calculus, one year of physics and one year of chemistry – including the labs. The department wants us to be very versatile as teachers when we graduate."
His experience in this program, Hunter says, has taught him more than just the content he'll need to know as a teacher. He's also learned how to go about teaching it.
"One of the things I really like about this major is that the classes I've taken are participation heavy, and that really suits me. I like getting up in front of a group and sharing my thoughts and ideas. I've also had some great professors. One in particular has the driest sense of humor. I intend to model my teaching style after his. He so saturates you with information, you have no choice but to learn something – and it all comes to you with a little humor mixed in."