Education major Morgan Roussel found a home and a future at UL Lafayette

Written byElizabeth Rose-Arcuri

小蝌蚪APP淚 always wanted to work with kids. Middle school is such a hard time, and they need qualified teachers.小蝌蚪APP

Morgan Roussel
Graduation Year
Class of 2022
Major
Middle School Education
Hometown
Houston, TX

Where I'm From

I小蝌蚪APP檓 from Houston, where I struggled to find a college that fit for me.

Where I Am

I found a new home at UL Lafayette and I小蝌蚪APP檓 majoring in middle school education.

Where I'm Going

I小蝌蚪APP檓 going to be a teacher and share my love of math with students. 

From the moment Houston native Morgan Roussel came to campus for a tour, she knew the 小蝌蚪APP was the best college for her.

小蝌蚪APP淓veryone was very accepting. They wanted to know about me and asked me specific questions about what I was looking for in a college,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淢y tour guide was really friendly 小蝌蚪APP and none of the other tours even asked me my name.小蝌蚪APP

小蝌蚪APP淭hey felt like they weren小蝌蚪APP檛 looking for a specific type of student, which is what a lot of the Texas universities were looking for. They were just looking for people who wanted to be around people.小蝌蚪APP

For Morgan, part of UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 appeal was the College of Education小蝌蚪APP檚 impressive reputation. She decided to major in middle school education with a concentration in mathematics.

小蝌蚪APP淚 always wanted to work with kids. Middle school is such a hard time, and they need qualified teachers,小蝌蚪APP she said.

Because of the connections she小蝌蚪APP檚 made in her college and on campus, Morgan小蝌蚪APP檚 confident about her future.

小蝌蚪APP淚 feel like after I graduate I can almost guarantee having a job in the education field just because of the connections that all of the professors have, and they小蝌蚪APP檙e teaching us so well,小蝌蚪APP Morgan said.

A big part of life for all education majors at UL Lafayette is the hands-on experience they get in local schools.

小蝌蚪APP淲e have to go into classrooms every semester to observe before we start student teaching, and you小蝌蚪APP檙e observing a classroom before you start student teaching in the same classroom,小蝌蚪APP Morgan explained. 小蝌蚪APP淚t very much prepares us for how it小蝌蚪APP檚 going to be, as well as teaching us strategies to use on the job.小蝌蚪APP

Morgan is looking forward to her Teacher Residency, which is a year-long student teaching experience.

小蝌蚪APP淚小蝌蚪APP檓 really looking forward to creating a relationship with the teacher who has been teaching for a while, and seeing how they handle a classroom versus how I would like to,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 think student teaching is such a cool opportunity 小蝌蚪APP it's like putting a foot in the door of teaching so I won小蝌蚪APP檛 be completely new to it when I start the job. It小蝌蚪APP檒l give me some really good experience beforehand.小蝌蚪APP

On campus, Morgan小蝌蚪APP檚 classes are teaching her important skills she小蝌蚪APP檒l need to lead a classroom.

小蝌蚪APP淚t comes down to: We should be knowledgeable in our subject, but we also need to be compassionate and we need to be flexible,小蝌蚪APP she said, 小蝌蚪APP渁nd we also should be knowledgeable about all types of children so we can properly manage a classroom. It has really just taught me flexibility and problem-solving skills.小蝌蚪APP