The time I spent working at DPI and the continued contact with Wendy
Wooten and Dr. Tammy Howard in the assessment office at DPI has been an
invaluable experience. Getting to meet the DPI staff, see their dedication to
education in NC and their enthusiastic support for teachers and students was
very reassuring. As teachers we tend to get closed into our own classrooms and
schools, having the opportunity to meet others involved at different levels of
education was just wonderful. Spending time at the DPI offices allowed me to
experience jobs in education outside the classroom and I feel like it helped
reaffirm that being in the classroom is the best fit for me. While I enjoyed my
time in the DPI offices, I was able to see the drawbacks of having an 8-5
schedule and I missed the (somewhat) controlled chaos of my classroom,
hallways, and school. In addition, being able to meet and work with my other
DPI fellows, Kari Haddy and Emily Jolley allowed me the opportunity to see what
their jobs as high school teachers is like and what they deal with at their
level of education. They are both such wonderful teachers, dedicated to their
profession and great role models as teachers, I have enjoyed collaborating with
them. So, while my fellowship is a bit different since it is with DPI and
involves a more unconventional project, I have really enjoyed the people and
the process and I feel like it has helped improve my dedication to the
classroom and to the profession as a whole.