Aspiring Elementary Ed Teacher Inspires Young Minds

Inspired by her fourth-grade teacher, Breanna Carter ’18 of Springboro, Ohio, prepared herself to become the teacher she aspired to be. “She made learning easy and fun, which caused me to want to do the same,” recalled Carter, the outstanding graduate of the School of Education and Behavioral Studies, who traveled to Australia’s Gold Coast last fall to complete her dream semester as an intern at an all-boys private school.

Between what she learned at PBA and her teach abroad experience, she is now ready to give back as a role model, especially to those children who need a positive influence in their lives.

Before going to Australia, Carter had an opportunity to do a 15-week internship at a Title 1 school, a low-income school, in Palm Beach County. And that’s where she found her passion for teaching students who desperately needed encouragement. Some of them, she observed, were more difficult to work with than others, but that’s because, she realized, many of them had not had a lot of constructive guidance in their lives. During the time that she was there, Carter took it upon herself to be a positive light in their lives and now hopes to start her teaching career at that school.

Carter has always liked school. She grew up going to a large public school and wanted a change. So, it was not surprised when she chose PBA for her undergraduate studies. “I wanted to go to a smaller school,” she said. “I loved the fact that PBA is 17 hours away from my home but I still felt surrounded by a strong community while I was there.

“I normally had eight to 10 other students in my classes so I was able to get to know my peers and professors more than I ever would have at a larger school. I could go to my professors for help and would be confident that they would take the time to do all they could for me and encourage me through each process.”

Her time at PBA made a huge impact in her Christian walk as well. Throughout these past few years, she saw God pushing her out of her comfort zone, encouraging her and equipping her with many tools she confesses she’ll continue to use in the future. “Some of those were skills I learned from my professors, whose life stories and experiences in the educational field were good lessons I’ll be happy to apply to my career as an educator.”