Student Spotlight: Abimbola Owoyemi
Tell us a little bit about yourself. When did you decide to pursue education and what drew you to this field?
I graduated with a BSC in Economics and, after several years, I decided to follow my passion of becoming a teacher. Presently, I am a bilingual teacher apprentice at Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz- Acero School soon to start student teaching. I decided to pursue education because my own love and curiosity for learning makes me passionate about teaching, as well as my love for children.
What do you love most about your being a NCE student?
What I love most about NCE is the school's diversity and my interactions with intelligent, insightful classmates. Not only do I learn from my professors, but I also learn from my classmates' perspectives and experiences.
Tell us something you are learning about right now and its relevance for your career goals. What’s been your greatest area of growth as you have worked toward achieving your degree? Tell us about a significant learning experience or “ah-ha” moment?
Something I am learning right now is how to conduct action research. It is about finding my voice as a learner and implementing research questions relating to education into my classes. Through this research, my voice can be heard. A significant learning experience has been my experience as a paraprofessional. It is one thing to learn and understand something, which can be an incredible experience. It's another thing to see pieces connecting as you try to explain that something to someone or a group of people. And then it’s yet another thing completely to take that same information and relearn it through the eyes of someone else. I learn through my students who teach me by clarifying material through their own experiences and understanding.
What's been most rewarding so far as being a student of NCE? What's been most challenging, and how have you worked through it?
NCE has given me an excellent and incomparable education. The most rewarding and best part of my experience so far is all of the amazing courses and coursework that continue to push my thinking and my practices. The most challenging aspect is balancing the demands of working full-time, family responsibilities, and being a full-time student. I’ve worked very hard on this graduate degree and sometimes I have to say to myself, "You got this, don't quit." I just try to maintain a positive attitude toward my schoolwork every term.
What would you tell someone looking to enroll in an NCE program?
If you come to NCE with a dream, I believe NCE will give you the education, skills, and support to make it happen! At NCE, support extends way beyond the classroom door. You will experience a caring community where students and teachers help and support each other so that everyone's encounter is rewarding and fulfilling.
