DeAnna Laverick
A former kindergarten teacher, DeAnna Laverick realized the impact teachers can have when some of her former students enrolled at IUP to become teachers. Learn more about this Department of Professional Studies in Education professor in this week’s Meet Our Faculty feature.
What is it about the education field that initially drew you in—and that ultimately keeps you interested?
There were teachers in my life who inspired me to become a teacher. They knew their students well and built positive relationships with them, and they helped me envision myself as a future teacher.
Having a career in education is interesting, because we are never done learning, and the new opportunities for teaching and learning are refreshing. Each semester, I reflect on my teaching, read, and think about new ways to teach. Having a fresh start every semester and teaching new groups of students make the field of education very interesting.
Why do you enjoy teaching in this discipline?
The best thing about being an educator is seeing your students succeed and move on to have successful careers and fulfilling lives after having been a part of their educational journey.
Some of my former kindergarten students became my students at IUP as they prepared to become teachers themselves. Seeing how this circle continues with future generations of students and teachers is very rewarding.
It is also wonderful to see my former IUP students as mentors for current teacher candidates in field placements and to work with them as colleagues.
What advice would you give students about how to succeed in college?
Time management is crucial.
I recommend keeping a calendar that shows daily and weekly events and due dates, having a semester-long visual to help with prioritizing the tasks that need to be accomplished, and planning for projects that may require long-ranging planning and time commitments. It is also helpful to keep a weekly to-do list as part of the calendar and update it each week with unfinished tasks moved forward as priorities for the upcoming week.
Tell us something most of your students may not know about you.
I love the Clarks!
They are a band that was big when I was a student at IUP in the late 1980s. My husband and I saw them in Indiana a couple of years ago and were so happy to see them perform our favorite songs.
Now, my husband and I play their music often, usually while we cook dinner. I just ask Alexa to “play music by the Clarks,” and our playlist starts.