Kate Beard, a senior at Twin Valley High School, has been named January’s Intern of the Month. Beard interns at the Twin Valley Middle School, working with 8th grade Language Arts teacher Lynn Balmer. Beard decided that interning would be an ideal experience because although she would like to teach, she has yet to figure out what subject interests her the most. Interning is helping Beard narrow down what field she would like to teach by allowing her to experience how much she enjoys each subject from a teaching viewpoint.
While interning, Beard grades papers, works with students in large and small groups, and does independent reading checks with each student. From her experiences thus far, Beard has been able to confirm that her future career is going to be in the field of education. She enjoys working with the students and instructing them. Teaching is something she would enjoy doing for the rest of her life.
‘Patience is something that is extremely important in this career, and I have taken that from this internship,’ said Beard.
Interning has taught her valuable lessons, both those gained from the students as well as her mentor. Balmer has taught Beard how to be patient and firm with the students. The students have shown Beard that teaching is more difficult than it looks, and is rewarding because of the improvement she sees in each student.
Balmer stated Beard had a real teacher presence, setting boundaries with the students while still being friendly with them. She has seen that Beard is confident in the teaching environment, and together they have a great relationship which traces back to Beard being one of Balmer’s former students.
In the future, Beard plans to attend Cabrini College or Millersville University and major in education, specifically Pre-K to 4th grade. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she aims to secure a job and then work on receiving her Master’s degree. Congratulations to Kate Beard – January’s Intern of the Month.
