At OHIO Southern, education majors find their people before day one

One parent came to campus on a Wednesday morning because her daughter insisted. She left saying her daughter had found the place she belonged.

That parent was at Ohio University Southern for the first New Student Orientation built specifically for incoming education majors, a half-day event designed to do something the first week of classes rarely has time for. It put students in a room with their faculty, their advisor and each other before a single assignment came due.

"She said she felt like her kid had come home," said Dr. Martha Evans, assistant professor of instruction in education. "This was the place her kid needed to be."

Dean Deborah Marinski opened the morning, and Success Advisor Christina Baker led introductions that gave students a chance to find common ground with the people around them. Evans and Melody Craft, assistant professor of instruction in education, then walked the group through what the education program asks of them at every stage, from early coursework to clinical placements in tri-state schools.

Craft said the session covered more than degree requirements. Faculty talked with students about the start of their professional identity, including how they write an email, how they present themselves in a school building and how they manage deadlines. The group also worked through the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

"AI is a powerful tool, but we want our students to be the ones doing the learning," Craft said.

The morning also connected students to the people behind the scenes. Dr. Teresa McKenzie, accessibility and veteran services coordinator, and Baker introduced the technology and support services students will use. Abby Kuehne, assistant director of financial aid advising, walked students through paying for college. Laura Holbrook, career development coordinator, showed students how Career Services will follow them from their first class to their first classroom. Current education students spoke as well, and the day closed with lunch.

Evans used her time with students to talk about what they were building in that room. The classmates beside them are not just this fall's cohort, she told them. They are future colleagues who may be assigned to the same district, and some will become lifelong friends. She offered proof. Four years after teaching two students in an introductory education course, she took them to dinner before graduation and learned they were getting married.

"I am investing in the future," Evans said. "If I can pass my skills to you, you are going to go out into the classroom and pass your skills to those students, and they are going to grow up and pass their skills along."

Those classrooms are close to home. OHIO Southern's Bachelor of Science in Education prepares students to teach early childhood and elementary grades, serving children from age three through grade five, or middle childhood grades four through nine. Most graduates go on to teach in the same tri-state communities where they grew up.

For Evans, who has taught at OHIO Southern since 2015, the most striking part of the morning was who showed up for it.

"Having the entities that surround us involved is powerful," she said. "I feel supported in my work. I feel like my goal is a common goal, a goal for everybody."