Denise Kemp is a second grade teacher at Northwest Elementary School in Pikeville, North Carolina, and she currently serves in the Air Force Reserve. She was on active duty for 6 years in the maintenance career field.
We recently asked her why she decided to go into teaching. She said, “I decided to go into teaching because my favorite part of being a supervisor in the military was training airmen how to do their job. My daughter's 4th grade teacher also was part of my decision making. She was such a good role model and teacher. So I decided to get my Masters of Elementary Education while I was in the military.”
After many months of research on different schools, Denise found the American College of Education Master’s Degree Program in Education perfectly suited to her busy life as it is 100% online and the price was right! She currently uses the GI Bill to help pay for her master's degree at American College of Education.
Her master’s degree in education program is already helping her achieve success in the classroom. “Classroom management seems to be my weakness this year and my current course has a lot of information that will help change that,” concludes Denise.
David Starr teaches kindergarten through fifth grade at Parkside Elementary School in Normal, Illinois. He was a member of the Illinois Army National Guard for 8 years. He served in the infantry and was called up to Germany in 2002 for support of 9/11 operations. He also spent a year in Louisiana training troops for Afghanistan and Iraq operations. “Desire to shape young minds,” was David’s answer to why he decided to go into teaching. If he can train troops for the Middle East, he will definitely impact young minds in his class!
David cited the convenience of American College of Education is 100% online master’s degree programs as a key reason he enrolled. He also knew other educators who were already in the online master’s program, which also influenced his decision. David also uses the GI Bill to help pay for his master’s degree at American College of Education.
David is working on his Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction degree and says, “I have been exposed to new ideas that I have implemented in the classroom. I have been more focused on research based theories and practices.”
Mark Osenko teaches US History to eighth graders at Read School in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1998-2002, and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA with the Second Battalion Fifth Marines. While in the Marine Corps, Mark served as an 0311 (Infantryman).
“I went into teaching because I wanted to help students reach their full potential. Just as I had those teachers who inspired me growing up, I wanted to inspire and help those students in today's generation,” says Mark about his decision to go into teaching.
Mark has a friend who is enrolled in a master’s degree program online at American College of Education and he told Mark all about it. After checking out the website and learning about what the college has to offer, he enrolled! “I find myself recommending it to other teachers who are looking to get a master's degree,” adds Mark.
Mark uses the Post 9/11 GI Bill to help pay for his master’s degree at American College of Education. He was able to use military funding for his undergraduate degree as well.
Mark is almost halfway through the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction degree program and has this to say about what he’s taking away from the program: “The lessons learned so far has helped me tremendously in my classroom. I constantly find myself using the material learned in my own classroom.”