天美传媒

by Ela Schwartz

For someone who has been out of school for scarcely a year, Kaitlin Meyer 鈥�12, M.A. 鈥�13, has certainly covered a lot of ground. Not only has she run many miles as part of the cross country team, but her influence also stretches far beyond Long Island鈥撯�揳ll the way to an orphanage in Kenya, where children can follow her example thanks to the 700 pairs of sneakers she collected for them. And, in a tight job market, she landed a coveted full-time position teaching math and earth science to special education students at in Huntington Station, New York.

Her secret to success? 鈥淜now what you鈥檙e doing,鈥� she said.

She considers the education she received in the instrumental in her securing a full-time teaching job fresh out of graduate school. 鈥淲e learned the standards and were updated on what we should be teaching,鈥� she said.

In addition, Ms. Meyer said she learned how to adapt her teaching methods to suit the learning styles of her students. 鈥淪ome kids are visual; others are hands-on,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut every kid can learn.鈥�

Ms. Meyer said she initially chose Adelphi for the 鈥撯�揳 unique five-year combined bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degree program that prepares candidates to teach at the childhood (grades 1鈥�6) and adolescent (grades 7鈥�12) levels. Adelphi also appealed to her because of its cross country and track teams, the Garden City campus was close to her hometown of Farmingville, New York, and her identical twin sister, Kristen, came to Adelphi to study .

鈥淎fter I started, I realized I loved the small classes,鈥� Kaitlin Meyer said. 鈥淚 felt like I was in a discussion with my teachers, not just being taught by them.鈥�

Ms. Meyer always knew she wanted to be a teacher. She pursued a bachelor鈥檚 degree in because, she said, 鈥淚 always loved math, and it was one of my stronger subjects.鈥� When she volunteered with the for challenged athletes, she was teamed with a young boy with autism. The experience motivated her to get certified to teach .

She found Anne Mungai, Ph.D., the director of Adelphi鈥檚 , to be 鈥減assionate about teaching and children.鈥� Ms. Meyer was so inspired by that she began collecting sneakers for the kids. Ms. Meyer soon got friends, family and neighbors involved and collected more than 700 pairs.

Ms. Meyer said she would love to visit the orphanage someday, but, in terms of working as a teacher, she鈥檒l stay right where she is. 鈥淲hen a kid says, 鈥楴ow I get it; now I understand,鈥� it鈥檚 very rewarding,鈥� she said.