Spring 2018 | Volume Eight | Number One
News on Innovations, Effectiveness, Collaborations, and Relevance from the College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
THE RIGHT FLIGHT PATH
Aviation student Larissa Vculek doesn’t shy away from a challenge—the promise of a life of travel and a cockpit view drew Vculek to the world of Aviation at Minnesota State University, Mankato’s College of Education. SEE STORY PAGE 14.
College of Education Dr. Jean Haar, Dean
Departments
Aviation Counseling & Student Personnel Educational Leadership Elementary and Literacy Education K–12 and Secondary Programs Military Science and Leadership Special Education The Children’s House
Centers
Center for Engaged Leadership Center for Educator Support Center for Educator Partnerships and Student Support The vision of the Minnesota State University, Mankato’s College of Education is to inspire lifelong learning and professional engagement through racial consciousness, social justice, and inclusion within a global context. The mission of the College of Education is to prepare professionals through research and evidence-based practices who demonstrate excellence in their profession. The purpose of Educate is to inform education stakeholders of the ongoing work of the College of Education and its impact on the education profession. Educate is published by the College of Education and distributed to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and education supporters. The College of Education welcomes ideas for feature stories and other content consistent with the mission of the magazine. Please email story ideas to christina.hinz@mnsu.edu.
Educate
Spring 2018 | Volume Eight | Number One College of Education Minnesota State University, Mankato 118 Armstrong Hall Mankato, MN 56001 Phone: 507-389-5445 Fax: 507-389-2566 Designers Wendy Bateman Linda Clavel Managing Editor - Christina Hinz
Greetings, In 1868, Mankato Normal School served 27 students out of rented quarters at the Methodist Episcopal Church. Today, Minnesota State Mankato is a comprehensive university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It is incredible to look back on the progress of the last 150 years. Our space has expanded, from the Shaubut building and then Old Main in downtown Mankato to our sprawling campus on the hill. Our curriculum has grown, from just 14 subjects to hundreds of undergraduate programs and more than 70 master’s and doctoral degree programs. Not to mention our students who once hailed only from Mankato and the surrounding areas and now come from across the country and around the world. Here in the College of Education, our legacy spans the university’s entire 150-year history. The Mankato Normal School became Mankato State Teachers College in 1921. In 1927, the college awarded its first four-year degree, a bachelor of education. Throughout its 150 years, Minnesota State University Mankato has had education as its core purpose. The college remains committed to this purpose while engaging fully in present and future demands. Last year, we revised our vision and mission to reflect our focus and expectation. Vision: To inspire lifelong learning and professional engagement through racial consciousness, social justice, and inclusion within a global context. Mission: To prepare professionals through research and evidence-based practices who demonstrate excellence in their profession. The vision and mission guide our work as we prepare for a future that keeps pace with ever evolving global, social and technological changes while also staying true to our purpose. Enjoy reading about our journey through the past, present and future.
Jean Haar
Writer - Sarah Asp Olson Photographer Dan Moen Print Coordinator Doug Fenske
MInnesota State University, Mankato is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the College of Education at 507389-5445 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY). EDUC171NE_03/18
4 A Look Back
As the University celebrates its Sesquicentennial, the College of Education celebrates its past, present, and future. From the beginnings of the Mankato Normal School in 1868 to the transition to presentday Minnesota State University, Mankato, the University and College strive for continued success.
6 Looking Back, Paying it Forward
Eager to learn from those who support and propel them towards success, Elementary Education students Vanessa Buth and Monica Warner are driven to help others, embrace opportunities, and serve the community.
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10 Bridging the Gap
Skilled mentoring and coaching are instrumental in preparing educators. For more than 30 years, the Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) program has effectively provided master teachers the opportunity to share their expertise through mentoring and coaching teacher candidates.
Luck, Timing and Lifelong Learning
Audie Willis proves there is no age limit on the pursuit of higher education. She walked across the stage as a 74 year old graduate of the Counselor Education and Supervision, Doctor of Education program.
8 A Lasting Legacy of Education
Education runs in the family. Irma Langer’s family has three generations of educators—all alumni from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Their legacy revolves around a passion for education and a love of helping children learn.
14 The Right Flight Path
Well on her way to becoming a professional pilot, Larissa Vculek credits the encouragement of family and the guidance of mentors to making her dream of professional flight come true.
Educate is also available electronically. If you prefer to receive Educate electronically, please contact the College of Education at col-of-education@mnsu.edu
A Look Back
150 years of Minnesota State Mankato
1868
Mankato Normal School opened its doors in the fall of 1868 with just 27 students. A few weeks after the start of the semester, classes moved to the second floor of the J.J. Shaubut building in downtown Mankato. Shaubut would be home to the school until 1870 when Old Main was completed.
1918
Still two years away from its transition to the Mankato State Teacher’s College, the Mankato Normal School produced a senior class Annualette. Later, the yearbook would be called the Katonian. The Normal School library housed about 15,000 volumes, according to a 1918 Normal School catalogue; this included a room dedicated to children’s books. Average room and board at the women’s boarding house, Daniel Buck Hall, was $4.50 per month. The hall housed 85 women and boasted common rooms, a kitchenette and laundry facilities. 4
1968
Mankato State College celebrated its 100th year in 1968. Newly completed Armstrong Hall expanded the college’s Highland campus, but students were still divided between the upper and lower sites. The Centennial Student Union opened on the Highland campus in 1967, giving students another place on campus to gather and study.
2018
In its 150-year history, Minnesota State, Mankato has transformed from a two-year teacher-training institute with 27 students to an international destination for comprehensive undergraduate and graduate education. The College of Education remains central to the university’s vision for continued success and excellence.
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Looking Back, Paying it Forward Future teachers and driven students Monica Warner and Vannessa Buth have embraced the opportunities given to them throughout their lives. As they reflect, they continue to look forward and dedicate themselves to giving others the same helping hand both on campus and in the classroom.
VANNESSA BUTH Scholarships Received: Marie Nicholson Eustice/Annexstad Scholarship Vannessa Buth started out the essay portion of her application for the Marie Nicholson Eustice/Annexstad Scholarship with a shocking anecdote. It relayed an early experience where she was a first-hand witness to violence against her mother. The memory was challenging to share, but Buth isn’t a stranger to challenges. At 21, she has lived in five states in eight different homes. Many of her family members don’t speak English, and few have more than a high school education. Through her struggles, though, Buth always understood she had a greater purpose—and for her that meant becoming a teacher. “I’ve known for almost my whole life that I was put on this earth to care and help others,” she wrote in her application. “I want to be the stepping-stone in a child’s life to gain knowledge. I want to be that helping hand.”
GIVING OUT OF GRATITUDE
At the heart of her desire to give back is the gratitude Buth feels for those who have helped along the way, starting with her aunt and uncle, Samantha and David Rydel, who invited her to move from California to South St. Paul to finish out her senior year in high school. “A lot of my family members aren’t doing well and I wanted to go a different route,” says Buth. “They pushed me, they helped me and always send me encouraging words and support.” Buth excelled in her final year of high school and was considering community college. It was David Rydel who encouraged her to check out Minnesota State University, Mankato. Over the past four years, Buth has built up a community of peers, advisors and on-campus organizations like Teachers of Tomorrow that encourage and advocate for her. And while her path hasn’t always been easy, Buth is focused on how she can use it to support others. “I hope I can use my own experience to influence [students],” she says. “I hope to encourage them in whatever they want to be.”
As a student in the Elementary Education program, Vannessa Buth feels passionate about supporting others and wants to be a helping hand to her students.
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MONICA WARNER Scholarships Received: Agnes and Rhea McCarthy scholarship in 2016 and the Kenneth and Marjorie Fullerton Foundation Scholarship in 2017. Monica Warner is pretty visible on campus. She represents the College of Education as a senator for the Minnesota State Student Association (MSSA). She’s also the coordinator for the student affairs committee and president and founder of the Environmental Sustainability Organization. She’s a passionate leader and a voice for her peers, but she’s never lost sight of her ultimate goal: becoming the best teacher she can be. “I’m one of those people who always knew I wanted to be an elementary education teacher,” says the Eagan native who grew up helping in her mom’s inhome daycare. “I had a lot of great teachers who really inspired me.” Warner looks at campus leadership as her way of giving back and as practice for a future of service to her students and community. While not directly related to education, her work has given her confidence and a passion for advocacy that she plans to take into the classroom. “As a teacher you are automatically an advocate for your students and you need to be there for them,” she says.
GIVING OUT OF GRATITUDE
Warner’s mom inspired her to be a teacher, but her parents would have been supportive no matter what she decided to pursue. “They have never been the type of people to force me to do anything,” she says. “They have opened up a lot of opportunities for me [by saying] ‘You can do whatever you want and we’ll support you.’” Warner has also found inspiration in her university family, including a circle of friends that serves as a sounding board and support system. “All these people that have influenced me, they’ve gotten involved in some way directly,” she says. “I believe that’s what I need to do. I need to get involved directly and stand up for what I believe in, and stand up for what other people believe in.”
Striving to be a teacher who inspires future students is a goal of Elementary Education student Monica Warner. Advocating for and supporting students is important to her.
LIFELONG LESSONS Both Vannessa and Monica are still inspired by their own elementary school teachers. We asked each what they hope future students will say about them in 20 years. Vannessa: “I hope they say they had a fun time, that they learned a lot, that they can tell I’m genuine and that I care.” Monica: “I hope they say I supported them in their decisions and helped them any time they came to me for help. I hope they would say I’m a teacher that inspired them in some way.”
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A Lasting Legacy of Education
Teaching runs in the family. Mary Drazan, Brad Drazan, and Irma Langer are all alumni from the College of Education while Ryan Drazan is set to graduate next spring.
THREE GENERATIONS FROM THE LANGER/DRAZAN FAMILY HAVE ATTENDED MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO’S COLLEGE OF EDUCATION.
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hen Ryan Drazan graduates next spring, he’ll become the fifth in a family line of Minnesota State Mankato-educated teachers that dates back to 1950. It all started with his grandparents, Francis ’52 and Irma Kovarik Langer ’50. The couple spent their careers in education—he in secondary and she in elementary. Francis passed away in 2007 after more than 30 years in the New Prague school district. But at 86, Irma Langer has a unique perspective. She reflects fondly on her own career in public and private education while seeing that passion lived out in the work of her daughter and two grandsons, who have chosen to follow in her footsteps. “Oh, you have no idea what it means to me,” says Langer. “I feel like—I hope—that I helped guide them. But I know I didn’t. They all have an interest in education. They all have an interest in children. It’s so important, especially nowadays, to form good positive role models for children.” Of course, Langer is being modest. Without her modeling, daughter Mary Drazan ’81 and grandsons Brad ’14 and Ryan ’19 may not have become teachers.
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“All of my family members influenced me to become a teacher,” says Ryan, who is currently studying special education at Minnesota State Mankato. “From a young age I would be in their classrooms and I loved every second of it. They never pressured me to become a teacher they just showed by example what good a teacher could do for any student who walked into the room.”
THE START OF A LEGACY
Langer was raised in Montgomery, Minn., by a single mom. When she graduated from high school in 1948, there weren’t many choices for women looking to enter the workforce. “You had the option of being a secretary, a teacher or a nurse,” she says. “So, my choice, of course, was being a teacher. I love working with children, I always have.” After earning a two-year teaching degree from Mankato State Teachers College and working five years in St. Claire, Langer moved with her husband to New Prague. At the time, married couples weren’t allowed to teach in the same district. Since her husband was a public school teacher, Langer accepted a position at St. Wenceslaus, where she stayed for 27 years. For three of those, mother and daughter had the opportunity to work side-by-side instructing two classes of first graders. “We each had about 20 kids in our room,” says Mary. “We did teach very closely. I used all of mom’s ideas and she was innovative. … It was a lot of fun.”
After leaving St. Wenceslaus in 1992, Langer continued to teach for another 15 years at Falcon Ridge Elementary School in New Prague. She officially retired in 2007, but still volunteers at Falcon Ridge. Amid a career filled with highlights, one of Irma’s most memorable accomplishments was founding New Prague’s first kindergarten program in 1959. For five years, the young teacher held classes in the basement of her home. “I ended up having so many students, I had to start an afternoon class,” she says. “After that, [the district] saw the importance of kindergarten, so they started one.”
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Mary Drazan’s first teaching job was that three-year stint at St. Wenceslaus alongside her mother. For nearly 30 years, Mary has headed up her own classrooms, but still incorporates much of what she learned observing and working with her mom. Most notably, her positive approach, acceptance, and love for children and learning. In recent years the script has flipped. Now, it’s Mary’s turn to share a career-long passion for education with her sons: Brad, who began teaching in 2014, and Ryan, who is on track to complete his degree in special education in 2019. Both boys attribute their career choice to mom and grandma before them. Their family legacy also made selecting a university easy.
“Mankato has always felt like home away from home for me,” says Ryan. “On my very first tour of the University my mom showed me around and right then and there I knew I had found my new home. It doesn’t hurt that Mankato has one of the best teaching programs in the state.” For Mary, seeing her sons thrive as educators has been a special kind of joy, especially since Brad chose to return home to New Prague where he teaches fifth grade. “That’s exciting and fun,” she says. “It’s fun to see him interact with the kids. One time we were eating out at a local restaurant, and someone was waving. Naturally, I waved back, because all the kids know us. He looked at me and said, ‘Mom, that’s one of my students, not yours.’” A lot has changed in 70 years— pedagogical techniques, student populations, state regulations—but the core principles Langer took into her first classroom all those years ago remain relevant today, and live on in the classrooms of her daughter and grandsons. “Whenever people bring up my mom and grandma they always talk about how great they made them feel,” says Brad. “Kids may not remember everything you teach, but they will remember how you make them feel. [They taught me] no matter who it is, do your best to make sure they feel better after you talk to them.”
Mary Drazan has shared her career-long passion of teaching with her sons Brad and Ryan—both of whom attribute their career choice to their mom and grandma.
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Bridging the Gap TOSAs partnerships keep students at the center. Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA) serve as a unique point of connection between P-12 and higher education. As experienced teachers from around the region, TOSAs mentor pre-experience teachers, participate in professional development and continue to work in their districts. “The [TOSA] is the bridge from pre-service to in-service,” says Gina Anderson, director of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Center for Educator Support. “TOSAs are such an integral part to keeping students at the center. They’re standing with a foot in both worlds.” For 30 years, Minnesota State Mankato has been building and strengthening the TOSA program, a partnership that has enriched both the university and public education communities. It’s also served as a shining example of excellence in collaboration on campus and beyond.
LOOKING BACK
The TOSA program was launched on the University’s campus in the 1980s as part of a state funding initiative. By 1997, the university had plans to phase it out, and asked Philosophy professor Dottie Scholtz to facilitate.
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Scholtz figured it would be an interesting assignment and took it on. What was supposed to be a yearlong transition period became a passion project for the next five. During that time, she continued the work started by program founder Bill Schroeder, building relationships with superintendents in Mankato and the surrounding areas. “I dug up all of the research that Bill had done,” she says. “The farther I got into it the more I was in awe. I thought this is what we have needed, research done by the actual practitioners.” Instead of dismantling TOSA, Scholtz shepherded the project into a new phase, strengthening the bonds between Mankato schools and the university and expanding into outlying areas. After Scholtz retired, Patricia Hoffman served as the Director.
GROWING FORWARD
By the time Ginger Zierdt took over as director in 2004, the TOSA program was growing and gaining notoriety in southern Minnesota and beyond. In 2012, the Center for School and University Partnerships (CSUP) received a partnership program of the year award from the National Association for Professional Development Schools, in large part because of
the TOSA program. University administrators from Florida and Illinois came to Minnesota State Mankato to understand how its TOSA partnership thrived. “The uniqueness rests in the shared ownership and accountability that you are literally sharing talent between two very large organizations—an independent school district and a state comprehensive university,” says Zierdt. “You share in resources, supervision, accountability and responsibility, that’s a very unique model of partnership.”
A LASTING BENEFIT
As a result of the TOSA program, university students are better equipped to enter district schools and experienced teachers are prepared to move into administration or other leadership roles, but it’s P-12 students who reap the richest rewards. “The impact of the TOSA on P-12 students comes through the work that the TOSA does to make sure we are sending highly qualified educators out of our university and into P-12 classrooms,” says Anderson. “As teacher candidates move to the other side of the desk—they go from being a student to being the beginning teacher—the TOSA is standing in the middle, supporting along the way.”
Dottie Scholtz, Gina Anderson, and Ginger Zierdt are three of many individuals who have played a role in building the TOSA program since its inception. Two themes remain strong: serving the P-12 students and strengthening bonds between the University and partner school districts.
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Luck, Timing, and Lifelong Learning Audie Willis proves there’s no age limit on the pursuit of higher education.
Audie Willis felt “celebrated, elevated, and blessed,” at her doctoral hooding ceremony last December. The 74-year-old enrolled in the Doctor of Education program at Minnesota State University, Mankato a decade ago, at a time when many would be considering retirement, not a career change. “I remember at my [doctoral program] interview, I was asked ‘Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?’ I wanted so desperately to say ‘I hope I’m alive,’” she says with a laugh.
A LUCKY START
Willis received her first diploma in 1961 when she graduated from high school in Louisville, Kentucky. She went on to attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, becoming the first in her family to advance past high school. “I remember someone saying to me, we’re the lucky ones. … A lot of women didn’t go to college,” she says. “My mother never did graduate [high] school because she grew up in abject poverty in Georgia.” Willis’ father grew up during the Great Depression. He graduated from high school but went right to work, forgoing the chance at a college education. But her parents were determined to give their only daughter the opportunities they never had.
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“Before I was born they started saving money, buying what at that time were called war bonds, for me to be able to go to college,” she says. “Education was always important to my parents. That was the way they saw that people could move ahead and could get jobs.” Willis went on to receive her master’s degree in speech and hearing therapy and spent the bulk of her career as a speech therapist in Faribault. In her late 50s, after a full career and raising a daughter on her own, Willis began to yearn for a change. “That’s what brought me to Mankato, to the counseling program,” she says.
IT’S ALL IN THE TIMING
Willis was drawn to counseling after working in early childhood special education. While taking a career development class as part of her master’s program, she saw how her career trajectory lined up with what she was learning. “I realized I was everything in that book,” she says. “I had been a first generation college student, a single parent, I re-careered … I had a context of life experiences in which to place a lot of the things I was learning.” After graduation, Willis accepted an adjunct position teaching Decision Making for Career and Life. “I used to tell students life was all about discernment, timing, and letting go,” she
says. “Sometimes people go right from A to D in a straight line, and sometimes career development is not a straight line. Sometimes what you start off to do is not what you end up doing. … I think the discernment for me was saying yes, I want to apply for the doctoral program. The timing came [in because] if I’d waited any longer at my age, I wouldn’t have done it.”
MOVING AHEAD
Willis currently calls Reno, Nevada, home, and has recently discovered another late-in-life passion: raising rodeo bulls. In fact, right after her graduation ceremony, Willis hopped on a plane to Las Vegas to cheer on one of her bulls—Juicy Fruit—at the National Finals Rodeo. As with her path through higher education, the bull business came as something of a surprise, but happened to be exactly what she needed. “People talk about doors opening for you, and sometimes doors don’t always open wide, they just crack open a bit,” she says. “When I started my masters at Minnesota State Mankato, I had no idea that I would be teaching, that I would be adjunct faculty, nor did I have any idea that I’d end up in the bull industry. Those opportunities come when you least expect them.”
Faculty member Diane Coursol hoods Audie Willis at the 2017 Commencement ceremony. Education was always important to Audie’s parents. She carries their determination with her: “People talk about doors opening for you, and sometimes doors don’t always open wide, they just crack open a bit.”
A Lasting Legacy
Audie Willis’ legacy at the University will live on in the form of the Diane Coursol and
John Seymour Endowment—which Willis named in honor of two Minnesota State Mankato professors. Master’s students in the mental health counseling track will be eligible to benefit from the endowment beginning in 2018.
Coursol is honored to lend her name to the scholarship, and to have worked alongside
Willis as she lived out her lifelong love of learning.
“Some people speak the words, but they don’t walk the walk,” she says. “Audie speaks
them and lives them on a daily basis. I’ve been here for 32 years at Minnesota State Mankato and she will stand out in the top one percent of individuals that I’ve run into over all those years.”
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Not afraid of hard work, Larissa Vculek enjoys the thrill of being behind an aircraft. For as long as she can remember, she wanted to become a pilot.
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The Right Flight Path With the encouragement of family and the guidance of mentors, Larissa Vculek is well on her way to making her dream of professional flight come true. There are few experiences as thrilling as sitting behind the nose of a massive aircraft, knowing that you’re in total control. It’s something Larissa Vculek, 21, experienced early in life. Her dad owned a small plane and would frequently take her up in the air. “For as long as I can remember I wanted to become a pilot,” she says. “I wanted to be in control of something so powerful.” Vculek hails from North Dakota, so when it came time to choose a college, most people assumed she’d stay in the state. But, after visiting Minnesota State University, Mankato and meeting aviation professor Tom Peterson, Vculek could see herself flying high as part of the aviation program. She also began to envision a career as a professional pilot for the first time.
“It wasn’t until I actually toured the University and talked to [Tom] and learned about the professional pilot career that I decided I wanted to pursue aviation as a career, not just for fun,” she says. The promise of a life of travel and a cockpit view drew Vculek in, but she quickly learned it would take hard work and determination to soar in the rigorous program. “I learned you really have to study,” she says. “My sister got me a book called ‘A Chick in the Cockpit’ and there’s a quote I’ve been living by: ‘You’ll have to attain the pinpoint focus of a Buddhist monk, trade your soul for flight hours, experience a few furloughs, sacrifice everything and everyone around you for your career, but you can be a pilot too.’ That has proven to be true. You have to prepare for
your flight lesson otherwise it’s going to be a waste of your time and your money.” Hard work, along with the close-knit department and mentorship from faculty and staff, has given Vculek the boost she’s needed to move through the program at a faster than average pace. As a scholarship recipient, she also credits her success to her donors—some of whom have become mentors. “I won the George Sugden Memorial Flight Time scholarship back in April and that’s when I met Nadine [Sugden] and her family and received the award,” she says. “We’ve been in touch ever since. … It’s nice to have someone following you and rooting for you through the training.” Vculek is on track to graduate in December 2018 and hopes to pursue a career with a major airline or as a corporate pilot.
DID YOU KNOW? Now is a great time to pursue a career in flight. Boeing forecasts a need for 466,650 more commercial pilots by 2029—that’s about 23,300 new pilots each year.
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PHOTO BY JONATHAN CHAPMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
118 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001
Retired College of Education professor Ken Pengelly is using the power of one to ensure his support of Minnesota State University, Mankato, goes on in perpetuity. “I recognize the importance of leaving a legacy that will enrich College of Education graduate and doctoral programs,� says Pengelly, who served the University from 1968 to 2001. Pengelly is passionate about giving back, and for that reason, established an endowment that will continue to add to existing scholarships well into the future.