Hannah Truitt, M. Ed. Instructional Leadership
Hannah Truitt is a third-year student at Northeastern State University, where she is pursuing her master's degree in instructional leadership. She was a student at Eastern Oklahoma State College before she transferred to NSU. After graduating with her bachelor's degree, she was approached by NSU faculty member Dr. Renee Cambiano, who invited her to join the graduate college. Truitt says Cambiano was a key influencer in her decision to attend graduate school.
When it comes to the graduate college, it was mainly the online coursework I found appealing, said Truitt. I do work full time, so that made it a lot easier for me as a student and employee to be able to not worry so much about taking off to go to class.
NSU's Master of Education in instructional leadership is an online program where students learn to be teachers who analyze the different factors that constitute effective teaching and to be reflective of their practice.
What I'm studying is learning how to teach in a classroom, said Truitt. It consists of learning curriculum, the educational psychology, all the different aspects that go into a classroom setting.
Truitt will complete an online teaching course as part of her degree, since her future plans involve teaching in an online setting. She wants to teach at a junior college someday.
I enjoy the sense of community that you get through online courses here, said Truitt. That's a funny sentence, but I know Dr. Cambiano because she's my mentor and advisor. When you're in an online class, she and other instructors require you to interact and communicate with the other students.
One misconception about graduate school is that it is expensive and requires the student to remain in school for years after completing their bachelor's degree. Truitt was surprised to discover otherwise when coming to NSU.
Truitt encourages those considering graduate school to look into all the options.
I was worried I was going to be in school for five more years, she said. That's very costly.
However, Truitt said when she looked into her options, she realized that was not the case.
I've only been in grad school for one year, and I'm going to be done soon.
Truitt is on course to graduate in December.
Look more into it, Truitt said. Don't form opinions based off what you've heard.