Alexa is a HNHS Class of 2016 alumni
WINONA LAKE, IND. -- Alexa Hill of Huntington, Indiana, and Huntington North High School graduate, was one of three Grace College students recently awarded for excellence in student teaching. Hill was named Outstanding Prospective Teacher in elementary education for her time teaching first grade at Eisenhower Elementary School in Warsaw, Indiana.
Each school year Grace College School of Education selects one or more students who demonstrate excellence in their role as student teachers. Recipients are awarded a plaque and recognition for their achievements in the classroom for elementary, secondary or special education.
“Alexa exemplifies the excellence, both in and out of the classroom, of Grace College graduates,” said Dr. Laurie Owen, dean of the School of Education at Grace College. “We are very proud of the effort that she put into her student teaching and education,” she said.
Hill’s mother is a teacher, and she always encouraged her daughter to pursue teaching. So Hill knew from a young age that her dream was to become a teacher. “This desire and passion for teaching was confirmed when I was a cadet teacher in second grade at Northwest Elementary in Huntington. This experience was special to me because my mentor teacher was my second-grade teacher,” she said. “Thank you, Mrs. Gehrke, for helping confirm my love and passion for teaching!”
Hill explained that it was classroom experiences like the one with Mrs. Gehrke that were the most beneficial as a teacher-in-training.
“In Grace’s School of Education, you do not merely sit back in a chair and listen to lectures about theoretical situations that may occur in the classroom. You are actively engaged in class, and you get the opportunity to practice what you’re learning in the schools right away,” said Hill.
Hill will return to Warsaw to teach this fall. “I am excited to give back to the community that has given so much to me throughout my four years at Grace College,” said Hill.
The School of Education at Grace College teaches students professionalism, classroom instruction, planning, and management. Students also have opportunities for applied
learning, P-12 classroom teaching and service projects in the community. Graduates are equipped with the skills, information, and temperament to become effective educators.
The Grace College School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and is approved by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and the Indiana Department of Education. For more information about the School of Education, call 574-372-5100, ext. 6144.
Grace College is an accredited, Christ-centered institution of higher education located in the historic lakeside town of Winona Lake, Ind. Affiliated with Charis Fellowship (formerly the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches,) Grace College was founded in 1948. Today Grace offers associate degrees, more than 70 undergraduate degrees in both traditional four-year and accelerated three-year degree formats, a bachelor’s degree completion program and on-campus and online graduate degrees. Grace College also has a site in Akron, Ohio. For more information, visit www.grace.edu.
