Education students share hurricane and earthquake experiences

The Professional Program in Education shared the experiences of students who were in Florida and Mexico recently and experienced the hurricane and an earthquake:

“It was a wild start to the beginning of September for Education Student Teachers placed across the globe. From Orlando, Florida, to Cuernavaca, Mexico, Education students share what it was like to experience a hurricane and an earthquake for the first time. Danielle Wright, an Elementary Education student teacher completing her student teaching at Palm Lake Elementary School in Orlando, Florida was in constant communication with college personnel thought the duration of Hurricane Irma. “Looking back on it, Hurricane Irma was an experience that I’m thankful I had, because the days preparing for the storm and the actual hurricane not only pulled my family closer together, but also put a lot into perspective for me,” she said. “Student teaching allows you to experience real life…and whether we like it or not, this is real life. Disasters happen. People survive. We rebuild and move on. But most importantly, we learn. That’s why I’m in this, isn’t it? :)”

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles south of Orlando, four student teachers living and completing their student teaching in Cuernavaca, Mexico awoke one early morning to a strong earthquake that centered in the southern part of the country on Sept. 8, 2017. Riley Garbe, Kirk Schuchardt, Mallory Gruszynski and Natalie Neuwirth felt the tremors and described it as nothing they had ever felt nor experienced before. “The earthquake was unbelievable! I woke up to my bed shaking and banging against the wall, the light fixture was swinging furiously from the ceiling, and the curtains were swaying back and forth. In the moment, it was very scary, but looking back, it was a really cool thing to experience. I just think it’s fascinating to think our planet is capable of doing such powerful things,” Gruszunski said.