Student Experiences
Sign
Up for THE UPDATE
The Update is a weekly digest of news and opportunities for College of Education undergraduate students.
Student Profiles
Trey Harris, Middle School Education
I decided to go to Illinois based on four factors: location, size, opportunity, and cost.
Raquel Caneva, Elementary Education
I am bilingual. My mom’s family is from Mexico, and so I grew up speaking in Spanish to my mom and then speaking in English to my dad.
Nia Curtis, Elementary Education
I knew that I wanted a classroom and space where I could teach children.
Xue Yan Chen, Learning & Education Studies
Xue Yan Chen received a $1,050 Undergraduate Research Support grant for her capstone project.
Kevin Ho, English major and Secondary Education minor
I chose Illinois in an effort to step out of my comfort zone and place myself in a setting where I would be challenged and have a huge opportunity to grow as an educator, leader, and friend.
Danielle Golob, Special Education
One thing that I really enjoy about the College of Education is how understanding the professors are.
Claire Follis, Learning & Education Studies
I love how small the college is, I felt like I could build relationships with my professors easily and that they were there to support me.
Matthew Sondag, Early Childhood Education
The College of Education is filled with kind, hardworking individuals who share the same passion for education.
Sam Fishman, Special Education major
I was inspired to go into the field of education by my parents commitment to public service.
Student Experiences
Bike Across America with the Illini 4000
Special Education major, Mike Rotter finished up his second summer with Illini 4000. Every year Illini 4000 embarks on a cross-country bike ride to raise money for cancer research. The group biked nearly 5,000 miles over 78 days with San Francisco being their final destination.
Education major Marisol Jimenez was awarded Outstanding Oral Presentation at the 2019 Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium for her research on reform acts in Chicago from 1980 to 2015 and the standardization and accountability movement. She is currently examining the charter expansion movement throughout Chicago and the impact it has on the gentrification of black and brown communities.
Because of her skill in the classroom, Amanda Fagenson was selected as one of four Chicago Public Schools (CPS) educators to be observed in her classroom by peers and colleagues, including the chief executive officer of CPS, Janice K. Jackson.
While many new teachers would feel nervous about this level of scrutiny, Fagenson was comfortable. The College of Education afforded her six opportunities to be observed as a student teacher giving her the confidence and experience to succeed in her own classroom.
Volunteer and Make a Difference
The College offers many volunteer opportunities where you can make a difference in the lives of children and their families. Student Opportunities for After-School Resources (SOAR) is an after-school tutoring program that provides literacy support and homework help to Latina/o emergent bilingual/bi-literate students in grades 2-5 by pairing them one-on-one with students from the University of Illinois. Each semester approximately 100 Illinois students from a wide variety of academic majors volunteer their time weekly to provide academic support to program participants. SOAR is a collaboration between the College of Education and the Champaign Unit 4 School District.
Events