Getting to Know You: Delaney Mickelsen
Delaney Mickelsen – Elementary Education
Hometown: Ephrata, WA
Year: Junior
Why did you choose WSU?
My dad was a Coug, my mom finished school here. We grew up going to football games and basketball games. I stepped on campus my junior year and I just loved it. I didn’t apply anywhere else I only applied here. It was just only WSU.
Why do you want to become a teacher?
I had always kind of bounced between teaching and other options throughout high school. But I found that I didn’t want to only limit myself to a career that was only in the city so I decided to change tracks to teaching. I want kids to love learning from a young age so that when they get to the content areas later on, they feel that they can be good at it and learn from the experience rather than just thinking they will be terrible at it from the start.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to being a teacher?
It just came really naturally and I loved learning. I really want my own students in my classroom to love learning and believe that even if they can’t do something now that if they work hard they can do it. I want to instill a growth mindset into students. This passion has only grown since I have started program and practicum.
What/who inspired you to become a teacher?
I had so many amazing teachers in Ephrata and I got the opportunity to work with one of our local programs in the summer called omny (Outreach ministries for neighborhood youth) and it worked with 60 students at-risk students from the local elementary schools and getting to spend time with them and be an influence on them was amazing.
Where do you hope to go after graduation?
After graduation I plan on going back to Ephrata. There are only two elementary schools so I would like to teach at one of those. I would like to go back to the community. It was a great place to grow up. My family is there and the more I have been away the more I want to go back.
What impact do you hope to make on your future students?
I hope to teach all of my students that even if they can’t do something now they can get it. I just want them to love learning more than anything. It makes school so much easier when you can enjoy what you are doing so that when those 2nd or 3rd graders do get to high school that it isn’t just a chore, but something they enjoy doing.
What is your favorite part of this program?
The friends I have made. I have made a couple of friends that are going to be lifelong friends and that is something that i feel i didn’t get when I wasn’t in program. Being in program has given me a group of friends who have the same shared interests and goals.
Do you have any advice for incoming freshmen?
Just be confident in who you are as a person and find people who will support you and your goals in life.