I have completed my first week as a Kenan Fellow by wrapping up our week long Professional Advancement in Cullowhee, NC. NCCAT was simply amazing and I can’t say enough good things about the experience. We started with ice breakers which allowed our varying personalties to begin to shine through – but what was most obvious was the one thing that we all had in common… our passion for teaching and the desire to better our profession. I can honestly say I have never been surrounded by such an amazing group of educators. Our class of Kenan Fellows is nothing short of spectacular – but the amazing part is, so is every class before us. I can not beleive how blessed I am to gain not only the friendship and support of our own class, but also of those that have traveled this road before us.

I will begin my work with Lenoir Community College tomorrow morning, bright and early. My goal is to see what LCC has to offer our community and students, and then find ways that I can build connections between the two. How can I increase the benefits that our community gets from this wonderful organization, and what can I do to better prepare my students for what they will need once leaving the public school system. These are the questions I will focus on with the first steps of working with my mentor. I will work with the robotics program, followed by a stint with the composites and design team. These first two training sessions are new skills for me, but I can’t wait to be put in the role of the student again! After these first two weeks I will begin the design process for two new units for our STEM science lab at Greene County Middle School. Good things are on the way, and I look forward to watching them develop.