A Little About Me
My name is Jenna Lepkowski. I am from Macomb, MI and received my diploma from Utica Community School’s Eisenhower High School. I was extremely fortunate to experience and interact with amazing and inspirational teachers who inspired me with a love for education. It is my expectation that I can do the same for my students. |
I went on to attend Michigan State’s highly ranked education program and recently completed my year-long teaching internship in a fourth grade classroom at Mt. Hope Elementary in Lansing School District. Having a year-long internship was beneficial because I was able to see what it takes to implement routines and behavior expectations that created a classroom community which fostered learning for the entire year. I planned and implemented units in the core subject matters as well as physical education, art and music aligned with the Common Core State Standards. To better connect with my students, I participated in several extracurricular activities, including dances, parent-teacher conferences and coached an after-school volleyball program for the fourth grade.
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In addition to my teaching internship and other MSU classroom placements, I was able to participate in the Urban Immersion Program in Detroit Public Schools. The program is highly selective and allowed me to work one-on-one with a mentor teacher to engage students and gain experience teaching Elementary subject matter. One of my leadership accomplishments that stand out to me is directing a student organization in the College of Education. TEAM (Tomorrow’s Educators for the Advancement of Multiculturalism) is a multicultural group focused on preparing educators to teach in diverse settings through academic discussion and civic engagement in the form of community service in the local community. These experiences helped me to be a prepared educator and stand out from other candidates.
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I wake up each morning with the intention to live each day to its fullest. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, working out, reading a good book and playing and watching sports. One of the most inspiring books I have read is called Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith. It is a powerful book that encourages teachers to not settle for ordinary and explains his thoughts on how to help your students become extraordinary individuals based on his experiences in the classroom. I would recommend this book to not only teachers, but anyone in the education profession. Growing up, I was involved in numerous activities, including dance, soccer, piano, clarinet, gymnastics, basketball, drawing and theater, but my favorite was volleyball. I played volleyball on school teams, travel volleyball and as I mentioned, I coached an after-school volleyball club during my internship year. I hope to continue sharing my passion of the sport with others. I am willing to try anything, within reason, and hope that this love for life will influence my future teaching.
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