Judson College :: Senior/Transfer

         WOW! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! INCREDIBLE! NO WAY!

IMPOSSIBLE! UNBELIEVABLE!

ITS MY LAST SEMESTER AT JUDSON

      I GRADUATE IN DECEMBER...

Moving in for the last time was both exciting and sad. I can’t believe that in December I will have completed my undergraduate degree. CRAZY! It seems like I just moved into the dorms for the first time. I am very excited to graduate, but when my time at Judson is over I will definitely miss my friends here.  

I moved into the dorms early this year because I am student teaching this semester. I will have 9th grade and 11th grade students during my first field placement and hopefully seniors during my second field placement. It will be great to be in the high school classroom all day. But that means that I have to be an ADULT all day. I have to actually lead a classroom filled with students.  It makes me a bit nervous, but I know that I can do it. 

It was hard to come back to school after this summer. I spent so much of my time traveling, it felt like I never had the opportunity to rest. My mom and I went on a road trip. We visited about 18 states during our vacation. I got to see the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and some many other cool places. 

I also got to be a part of two mission trips. I went to Moldova, where I led VBS and taught English, and to Kentucky for a building trip. In Kentucky I actually got to hang dry wall all by myself. How cool is that? ME, Hang dry wall... ALONE? It was hard work but I enjoyed every minute of it. 

  Both of these experiences helped me to grow in my faith and as a person. I learned how to truly be a leader and how to BOLDLY share my faith. I encountered people from a variety of faith backgrounds and learned how to approach each of them in a way that allowed them to open up. 

The summer was WONDERFUL, but now it is OVER...

I expect this semester to be my best yet at Judson. I know that many memories will be made many pictures will be taken and many lasts will take place. And the exciting part is that you will be there to experience them, too. 

For the Love of Mother Judson, Anne Kirtley, and Sandra Fowler!

~JODIE~ 

Wow! Short term is over, for me at least.  I can’t believe that I have been at Judson for two full years. It seems like just yesterday I was at home going to community college, and now I am one semester away from graduating from Judson. Short term is like a blur now. It went by so quickly. 

All of my classes were great! I really loved multiculturalism. We learned a lot about Marion as a part of one of our projects in the class. Each of us made a scrapbook page for a historical site in Marion. I had no idea that the Southern Baptist Convention began at Siloam Baptist Church and that Samford University also originated in Marion. The history in the town is so rich!

I also took 19^th Century Literature. It was Dr. Thornton’s last class at Judson. He has been at the school for 41 years and he chose to retire this summer.  I have had him as my instructor several times and I enjoy learning in his class.

Overall the summer semester was great!

Next year is going to be so exciting. I will be student teaching. I will do half of my time at Greensboro High School and the other portion of my time at Francis Marion High School. I will get to work with teachers that I have worked with before. At Francis Marion, I will get to work with students that I have seen grow over the past two years.  I had the students in the tenth grade and then this year I had the opportunity to mentor some of them as eleventh graders. Next year I will have them in their senior English class. I cannot wait.   

The fall is going to be wonderful. It will be slightly sad because it will be my last opportunity to experience many of the Judson traditions.  I will sure miss dear old Judson.

Well that is all for now! I will be sure to update you about my summer experiences when I return to school.

 I will be traveling to Atlanta, DC, Moldova, and California! It will be an eventful summer for sure!

For the Love of Mother Judson, Anne Kirtley, and Sandra Fowler!

~Jodie~

Today I went to the Women’s Leadership Summit at Auburn University.

A few weeks ago when Dr. Kiser asked to speak with me after an Education class, I couldn’t imagine what we needed to talk about. I walked down to the academic dean’s office and was excited to learn that I was going to be given the opportunity to go, along with eight of my classmates, to a leadership conference.

This morning, we loaded the Judson van at 5:45. We made the two and a half hour trek across the state to Auburn. The first session was about business and entrepreneurship. We heard about women who were very successful in the business world. That session was followed by a session about women in the health care field. One of the women that spoke is a doctor in Auburn, her name is Debra McCormack. This woman told us about her journey to the medical field. Before becoming a doctor, she spent time officiating basketball. She was once an Olympic basketball official. I thought that was amazing. It amazed me even more that she completed medical school after she turned 35.

Lunch was wonderful. I am speaking about the food, but more than anything the speaker was inspiring. Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice, Sue Bell Cobb is such an amazing woman. She is hilarious and a great speaker. She is also very active in advocating for children.

After lunch we went to several more sessions. There was a panel for women in politics, women in education, and women in law and activism. We got to hear so many different perspectives of women in leadership roles. Despite all odds these women rose to the top of their field and became truly successful.

The trip back to Judson was filled with so much chatter. We all had an opinion of what we had heard and what we were going to do about it. What a job we have as women! Especially women graduating from Judson College, a women's college where we are prepared to be leaders.

For the Love of Mother Judson, Anne Kirtley, and Sandra Fowler!

~Jodie~

Today I got to experience a new side of the Educational Field. When I was asked to travel to the University of Alabama with a group of students from Francis Marion, I was really excited about the opportunity to go to UA. I did not even consider learning anything while being a chaperone.

We loaded the bus during the student’s first period class. The sky was dark and filled with heavy clouds, but one of the other chaperones comforted my concerns when he informed me that the weatherman predicted that it would not rain until after lunch.

The students were great on the bus and before we knew it we were at the UA Campus. The clouds opened and allowed a flood to escape. My attitude changed quickly. I didn’t want to get wet and I didn’t know how we could possibly have a campus tour in a downpour.  After a mad dash from the bus to the admissions building, we watched a short film that introduced us to the university. We then returned to the bus, and I was pleased to find out that we were going to tour the campus while inside the bus. That school is HUGE! I cannot imagine being on such a big campus every day.

After our tour, the rain stopped and we walked to the honor’s college for lunch. I found myself counting heads as we navigated across campus. I didn’t know how nerve racking it could be to be responsible for keeping up with twelve high school juniors.

We ate lunch and then headed to Bryant-Denny Stadium. I learned that boys tend to walk more slowly when co-eds walk by. I learned that sometimes it’s necessary to count and recount the students. See, I never claimed to be fantastic at math.

When everyone finally made it to the stadium, we were given the grand tour. We got to go into the locker room. YES! The locker-room.  I am an Auburn Football fan, (as a side note, of course I would be a Judson fan if we had a football team) but that was a super cool experience. The student’s also got to visit the Pressroom. The young men in the group became superstars as they stood at Nick Saban’s podium. We had to practically pull them from the stage.

I think that, overall, the trip was great. The students got to see a college campus and had the opportunity to see the protocol for a college visit.

I really enjoyed the trip because I felt like it gave me practice; practice for my future as a teacher.

It’s funny how things work. The task of chaperoning 12 young people on a field trip doesn’t seem like anything special. But at the end of the day, I felt like I had been successful.                

For the Love of Mother Judson, Anne Kirtley, and Sandra Fowler!

~Jodie~