•At least three deeply felt learning’s from this program

 I have learned so much as a student at Walden University that it seems awkward to narrow the experience down to three learning experiences. The first experience I would like to share is how confident I am as an adult educator because of my experience at Walden. The tools I have learned I will carry with me for a life time. I have learned more about eLearning, classroom management, effective teaching strategies and so much more.  I have confidence is my abilities to lead others in the field of early childhood education. I am thankful for the experience.

The second learning experience that has made a difference in my life is learning to recognize my biases. I think gaining a better understanding of why I am who I am and how I treat others is a powerful, growing experience. I love working with families from different cultures and backgrounds however before gaining a higher education I was probably more critical than I am now. I have learned the importance of acceptance. I have learned that I can keep my belief systems and still have an open mind. I now know how to incorporate all families into the classroom learning experience. I see the importance of everyone feeling accepted and seeing themselves in the early education classroom as well as the adult classrooms. Again, I feel blessed to have learned such valuable information.

The third eye-opener for me was exploring education across the country and world. Before my experience at Walden I had not looked beyond my own state or surrounding states. Now I have had the honor of researching programs across the country and worldwide. I have learned from programs that serve the needy, the homeless and disaster victims. My eyes were opened up to see how much early childhood cares about children and families beyond the classroom. The differences we can make are unbelievable.

•At least one long-term goal

One long term goal I have is to complete my Capstone project. I would like for all four year old children in Kelso-Longview to have access to high quality pre-kindergarten. When I chose the challenge I wanted to choose something I felt strongly about. I feel it is very important for children to get the right start in their education. I hope to see this come true in my area soon. The second long-term goal I have is to make it through my tenure process at Lower Columbia College. I was hired in January as full time ECE faculty. The process for tenure takes three years. I chose this as my long term goal because without my education at Walden I would not have the opportunity to be faculty. I love my job and I hope three years from now I can say the job is mine forever. The third long-term goal I have is to visit a needy area and support children and families. I am not sure where or when or even how. I will continue to pray about it and when God is ready to use me to help others in a bigger way he will let me know.

•A farewell message to your Instructor and colleagues

 I would like to thank everyone for their support over the quarters. I have truly enjoyed my experience at Walden. I have learned from the ups and downs. I have loved learning from the professors and the students. Thank you for the effort and hard work all of you have done to increase my learning experiences. I wish all of you the best of luck now and in the future.

Josie Zbaeren