“I Love Being a Teacher!”
“I was able to experience many different classrooms and figure out which grade level I wanted to teach before I even student taught.”
– Libby Elmitt ’14
Central Major: Elementary Education
Campus Activities: Central Teacher Academy, Campus Ministries, Campus Activities Board, Student Senate, Board of Trustees Student Representative, Student Ambassador in Admission Office
Study Abroad: Bangor, Wales
Graduate School: Master’s degree in education from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa
Career: Third Grade Teacher at Beaver Creek Elementary, Johnston Community Schools, Johnston, Iowa
“My students are my energy, my joy and my light! I love seeing the improvement in each and every one,” says Libby Elmitt ’14. “They may just be second graders, but they have big brains and already care so much for each other. I find myself learning from them daily.
“My first job was at the school I worked at while I was in the Central Teacher Academy, so I already knew the staff and the principal there. CTA was a huge help. I was able to experience many different classrooms and figure out which grade level I wanted to teach before I even student taught. The two years of experience in a second-grade classroom prior to my student teaching helped give me experience with one-on-one, small-group and whole-group instruction. CTA gave me the confidence to be who Miss Elmitt is today in the classroom. I absolutely love, love, love being a teacher!”
In May 2019, Elmitt earned a master’s degree in education from Drake University. “It was a wonderful two-year educational experience that built onto my education foundation from Central,” she says. “I love running into other educators who went to Central, regardless the year they graduated. It is so fun to make connections that always tie back to Central or a professor we both had. I have even had a few children of Central alumni in my class.”
Elmitt remains in touch with her teacher friends from Central. “During my senior year, we all lived together and called our pod in McKee Hall the ‘teacher’s lounge’ as we were always talking about education and still talk about it,” she says. “At least three times a year we get together, and we text weekly. It has been fun to continue our friendships. We constantly encourage and push each other in our current educational jobs and laugh at the Central memories we will always cherish.”