Since graduating I have been teaching German levels 1-5 (Advanced Placement) at Hoover High School in North Canton, OH. I am the advisor for the German Club there and recently led a trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with twelve high school students.
My experiences at Muskingum instilled in me my passion for German as well as education. Because of Muskingum's language program I was able to study abroad and immerse myself in the language and culture of German speaking countries. Without that experience I wouldn't be able to teach with the enthusiasm and to the extent that I can now. The education program at Muskingum also offered me multiple opportunities in diverse settings to see if a career in a classroom was really a good fit for me. Additionally, Muskingum's networking and follow through with seniors really guided my final months before graduating and I owe the position I have now to the mindful professors that alerted me to job openings in Ohio.
This post was originally published on December 17, 2012.
Karen DeBaldo, a senior from Pittsburgh, recently put her classroom education to the test. A German Education major, DeBaldo spent Spring ’12 semester studying abroad in Germany.
In addition to traveling throughout Germany and Europe, DeBaldo was able to attend some traditional German festivals. Of those experiences, she says, “I felt like I stepped into a scene from my high school German book. It was awesome.”
DeBaldo feels her time at Muskingum prepared her well for her travel abroad because “it’s actually because Muskingum is so small and personal that I became really comfortable being more assertive. Over the past three years I’ve learned a lot about professional and social settings; talking to professors, talking to other students, taking care of my responsibilities. Even though German culture is very different from here, I developed a great sense of responsibility here and I think Muskingum’s environment fostered that and prepared me for life outside of Ohio. My German classes here also prepared me very well for the level of speaking, reading, and writing I needed to achieve in Germany.”
Comparing her expectations of Muskingum with her actual experiences on campus, DeBaldo says, “When visiting and applying I knew that Muskingum was the type of school where I would fit in well and succeed in my classes; I just had no idea exactly how involved I would get, how helpful the professors would be, and how much I would really love it here.”