Grace Watson ʼ18
Posted on: June 14, 2021
Music Education
Occupation: Music Teacher at Fair-Oak Elementary School in Westminster, SC
Growing up, Grace Watson ʼ15 always knew she wanted to be a teacher. She has always loved to help people learn new things and become more confident in certain activities and skills. Grace was a dual enrollment student at NGU during her junior and senior years of high school and quickly realized that NGU was the place she wanted to pursue my degree.
The faculty and staff of the music and education departments equipped her with the tools that she needed for her “teaching toolbox” to be a competent and confident educator. “Effective Practitioners, Caring Leaders, Lifelong Learners” was the motto she was taught and still lives by in her teaching career today. I had the wonderful opportunity to observe many talented teachers as I prepared to become a teacher myself.
The catalyst for my philosophy of education currently as a teacher was my student teaching experience with Alice Witt, a fellow NGU alumni and now retired music teacher at Inman Elementary School. Mrs. Witt demonstrated to me how actions speak louder than words. Her kindness and giving nature were evident in everything that she did in the classroom and it inspired me to do the same in my own classroom.
Through the influence of my professors at NGU as well as the teachers I observes during my time there, I felt encouraged and equipped to pursue higher education opportunities. Having just completed her Masters of Education in STEAM Education while being a full-time teacher, her success in that program was due to the teachings and principles she learned from the wonderful educators she learned from at NGU.