An Empowering Voice: Rebecca Stewart’s Journey in Education and Research

Story by Maddie Paulson and Mia Perez-Behringer, UW-Green Bay student interns

Rebecca Stewart, a UW-Green Bay student and future educator, credits her English classes with helping her rise to become a nationally recognized English student.

Supportive instructors can significantly influence a student’s journey and goals. The power of mentorship is evident in the story of one remarkable student. Two notable figures in Rebecca Stewart’s story are UW-Green Bay Professors Rebecca Nesvet and Valerie Murrenus Pilmaier from the English department. They create a positive learning environment that helps students explore their interests and build confidence. With personalized guidance and freedom in learning, these professors play a vital role in shaping their students’ academic paths.

Stewart is a nontraditional undergraduate student at UW-Green Bay. She is majoring in English with a double emphasis in English Education and English Literature and a minor in Education. She hasn’t let unfortunate experiences with learning during her middle school and high school years slow her down. “I began to struggle in school and kind of just thought, ‘I’m not smart enough to be a teacher,’” said Stewart, recalling how she found her path. But when deciding on her future career, she remembers what helped her through a difficult school life. “Going through what I did, I was always reading, using it almost as escapism, and English classes were my favorite. The teachers that helped me and influenced me the most were my English teachers.”

Recently, she blazed her path to Long Beach, California, at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, where she presented a trope in Gothic Literature titled “The Satanic, Romanticism, and Vampires: How Vampires in The Black Vampyre and Carmilla Relate to the Satanic.” This research explores how vampires from underrepresented communities (The Black Vampyre is a Black vampire from Haiti, and Carmilla is a lesbian vampire) have traits of the Byronic hero and the romantic Satan from romanticist literature.

Moreover, one of Stewart’s proudest accomplishments is her research on “Maid-Mistress.” This work explores how tropes in gothic literature provided a space for queer romance to exist at a time when society, including the legal system, denied its legitimacy. Stewart’s findings were published in the Journal of Undergraduate Research in the Humanities, showcasing her impressive research on a national level.

“I wouldn’t have gotten to this point had I not been in classes with Prof. Nesvet. She allowed me to explore that topic, even though it wasn’t what we were doing in class,” Stewart explained. Professor Nesvet opened the class’s final project to foster Stewart’s ambition. “The project had a standard word count, and she knew that I wanted to submit to a National Journal and said, ‘I will proofread a 5000-word paper.’”

She explained, “It was being able to have a professor that trusted me and trusted the work that I would do… I had never experienced such faith in my work…and I think without the faith that Prof. Nesvet, has in my work and Prof. Pilmaier, as well, who has been super helpful, I don’t think that I would have been even confident enough to try to do something like this.”

But Stewart isn’t done yet. Her passion for research, literature, and the LGBTQ+ community has fueled her to rise as an educator in a college setting. “At first, my education was because I wanted to better myself. I wanted to get a good job and so on, but now it’s more I want to get this education because I can be a voice for a community that has been historically silenced,” she said. She finds that a college atmosphere is most suited for her professional aspirations, allowing her to explore queer romance, among other historically silenced themes, with students. She feels that trust in her students’ abilities is something she wants to carry on from her professor-to-student relationships at UW-Green Bay.

“I wouldn’t have the opportunities I do today. Their support, trust, and encouragement have been invaluable. Once I find myself in a similar position, I believe extending the same support to others is only fair.”

The insights of Zaretta Hammond deeply influence her teaching philosophy in her book “Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain.” Hammond emphasizes educators’ essential role in learning by stating, “You are not a neutral party in the process. You can never take yourself out of the equation.” This perspective underscores the importance of being actively engaged and aware of one’s biases and classroom experiences. By embracing this philosophy, she aims to create a learning environment that acknowledges and values the diversity of her students, ensuring that her approach is both inclusive and responsive to their unique backgrounds.

Stewart’s philosophy, “I believe it is hypocritical to encourage students to learn if I have stopped learning. I strive to be an educator constantly searching to learn more. This comes to fruition in my research; I will continue to search to learn more and offer more to the field. Finally, as an educator, I cannot follow my students through life and help them find the answers, but I can take the time while they are in my class to teach them how to find the answers themselves.”

When Stewart reflects on her journey, she recognizes that her belief in herself has been vital. If she could speak to a younger version of herself, especially during her struggle with mental illness, she would share this insight: “I would reassure myself and any young person facing similar challenges that there’s no shame in seeking help for one’s mental health. It’s truly one of the bravest things one can do, particularly in environments where stigma might exist. Accept your struggles – it isn’t a weakness; it’s a courageous move. Try to understand that it’s not your fault that you’re having a rough time. And, once you take the leap, you open yourself up to new opportunities.”

Stewart is looking to apply to doctorate programs with her research as proof of her knowledge as she approaches graduating in spring of 2025 with her bachelor’s degree. “It’s so cliche that it gets better, but it really does,” she said. “Get the help you need and come back at any age. There’s no timeline for this, and you might be considered a mature student, but it’s better than questioning if you could have done it because you absolutely can.”