This is an archived UW-P news item,
originally posted: 11/6/2007.
Scholar Meets Real World
"Ebullient" is always the word that comes to mind when I have a chance to talk to Tesha Tucker. It's not the kind of perkiness that falsely elevates the conversational pitch. It's a kind of inner joy she has that just can't be held back, even if she tried.
Why shouldn't she be full of joy? December 2007 marks a turning point as she moves from the ranks of those being taught to those who will teach. Like many UW-Parkside teacher education students, November is the month Tesha finds out where she will be placed for the last leg of her journey toward teaching licensure. "A long but worthy road," as Tesha says.
Tesha first began her college studies at the University of Memphis, then the College of Lake County. "Back then, I told myself I would stop with an associate's degree; that's what all my friends were doing," Tesha said. "But as my son (12 year old William) got older, my husband and I wanted to show him that there are more choices." Besides that, the scholarships started rolling in.
First there was the John I. Caples Ministry "Gift of Knowledge" Scholarship through her church. That was followed by the Out-of-State Initiatives Scholarship that brought her to UW-Parkside. Since then she has received two distinguished UW-Parkside scholarships: The Kenneth L. Greenquist Memorial Scholarship, and currently, the Educators Credit Union Scholarship.
Tesha's list of accomplishments at UW-Parkside is lengthy. With nearly a perfect academic record, her appearance on the Provost's List is a standard occurrence. She's been inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, she's worked as a peer tutor in the Learning Assistance Center, and, last year, she was a panelist on the "Charting our Future" (recruiting minority teachers), and participated in the Mentor/Mentee Program, a collaboration between teacher education and the Office of Multi-Cultural Student Affairs.
"I've had so much fun at Parkside," Tesha confides. "I've met so many great faculty through my English major: Walt Graffin, Don Kummings, Carole Vopat and Christine Tutlewski. They all helped build my confidence. Now I feel like I've come into my own. I'm inspired to keep the learning going," Tesha said. Joy and learning: two qualities that will make Tesha a great teacher.
Publish date: 11/6/2007
