Meet Maddie Bowling! Maddie is a sophomore at UNCW currently studying Elementary Education with a concentration in Behavioral studies. She is an extremely caring and friendly individual with many gifts ready to contribute to the education world. If you see her on campus be sure to give her a big wave!
HC: What are you involved in on campus?
MB: The first organization I joined on campus was the Education Learning Community my freshman year. I am now a mentor to two freshman girls in the ELC and love it. I am a Watson Student Leader and just accepted the position of Recruitment Chair for the 2018-2019 school year. This is also my second year on the UNCW Dance Company!
HC: Why do you love education/ where did it start?
MB: I have always been passionate about education for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a city where many of my fellow classmates lived in poverty and I saw how it affected their academic success and social lives. I continued noticing this pattern when I started volunteering in two elementary schools in my city my senior year. This experience strengthened my love for education and is the reason I want to work in low-income schools.
HC: What is one way you hope to change/shape education for the next generation?
MB: My biggest goal for education is to reconstruct the way my students view learning. Students begin developing a dislike for education at a young age due to repetitive content taught strictly for end of grade testing. I hope to inspire students to enjoy learning by allowing them to experience the things they are taught rather than simply learn it for a standardized test. I want to show students that school is a safe and encouraging environment meant to support them and watch them succeed.
HC: Who is/was an inspirational teacher that you will always remember?
MB: I was lucky to have great teachers throughout elementary school, but my 4th grade teacher really inspired me to want to be a teacher. He had a wall full, from ceiling to floor, of pictures of him with his past students as adults. He knew each of their names no matter how long it had been since he had seen them. I always admired the fact that he made such a huge impact on his student’s lives that they would come back and visit him years after elementary school.
HC: Any advice to an incoming Education student?
MB: The Education field is infamous for being underappreciated and underpaid. The most important advice I can give to an incoming student is to focus on what is truly important. Teachers will never receive the credit they deserve so it is crucial to stay positive and remember that regardless of the lack of support, you will make a difference in a student’s life.
HC: What do you hope will be your biggest contribution to UNCW?
MB: Accepting the Recruitment Chair position for Watson Student Leaders is very important to me because I want to encourage current and incoming students to become teachers. I hope to contribute to UNCW by bringing more students into Watson College of Education and promoting the education field.
[Photos Courtesy of Maddie Bowling]