About to Give Up, Donor Funds Lead Future Teacher to Graduation Stage

April 28, 2023
Dakota Baer was working two jobs, 40 hours per week as a shift leader at Walmart and for the City of Thornton as a swim instructor, when she transferred to UNC from Red Rocks Community College in 2020. Overwhelmed by her workload, paying for school and with COVID-19 turning the world upside down, she thought about giving up and dropping out.
Baer chose UNC because of its reputation as a leader in teacher education, but she hadn’t been to campus yet. That’s when her mom put her in the car and drove her to Greeley. She fell in love with the campus, especially the libraries.
“As we walked around campus she was like, ‘you need to be here,’” Baer said. “She was that motivational support I needed.”
From that moment on Baer committed herself to finishing her degree.
Neither of Baer’s parents had attended college and they wanted her to succeed, especially because she had fallen in love with teaching in high school. She attended school at Mount Range High School and joined the Teacher Cadet Program through the Bollman Technical Institute. Though she initially wanted to teach elementary school, she was placed in middle school and found her perfect fit. She said that she was able to overcome some of the areas that she found boring in school, such as lectures, by having the students analyze something and come to conclusions themselves, then coaching them into the lesson from there rather than starting with a lecture. After graduating with an associate degree, she said the UNC choice was straightforward because of the teaching program and the financial assistance she would receive.
Part of this financial assistance was in the form of a transfer student scholarship. Her dad helped her pay for books and car insurance, and she worked to cover the rest of her costs, her goal being to graduate with no student loan debt. She was on track to meet this goal until her last semester during which time she had to student teach full-time without being paid. Fortunately, her teachers nominated her for the Goodman Teacher Scholarship. This scholarship, created by Casey (’10) and Lindsey (’10, ’14) Goodman, helps students during their semester of student teaching.
“The Goodman Teacher Scholarship has given me hope and provided that final push to get through this next semester, which will be one of the hardest I have taken,” Baer said.
Not only did her UNC professors nominate her for the scholarship, but they were also incredibly supportive and willing to go the extra mile for her. One of those professors is her advisor Kelly Langley-Cook, a lecturer in UNC’s Department of History who also works with the Secondary Teacher Education Program.
“Dakota is very dedicated to her students. She constantly challenges herself to get out of her comfort zone to really know them and serve them well,” Langley-Cook said. “Dakota worked at an alternative school for the past year - where the students often need different kinds of motivation and buy-in to connect to the learning, and she came up with some of the most creative and interactive lessons to make sure that they felt connected to the lesson. I watched her take a class that started as quiet and uninterested and turn it into a vibrant place of discussion and learning.”
Another faculty member, T.J. Tomlin, professor of History, also enjoyed watching Baer teaching in the classroom.
“In November2022, I had the opportunity to observe Dakota teach in a secondary classroom in Greeley. Unsurprisingly, she brings the same dynamic energy she brought to my classes into her own classroom,” Tomlin said. “I have no doubt she will soar as a teacher and help her students grow, thrive and excel.”
Given this support, Baer said she was able to earn her Bachelor of Arts Degree and secure a job teaching starting this fall at Eagle Ridge Academy in Brighton, Colorado.
“Once you connect with the students, and once you can reach them and their way of learning, it’s absolutely unbelievable,” she said.
– written by Christina Abel
A punto de rendirse una donación lleva a futura profesora a graduarse.
Dakota Baer tenía dos trabajos, 40 horas a la semana como jefa de turno en Walmart
y para la ciudad de Thornton como instructora de natación, cuando se trasladó a la
UNC desde Red Rocks Community College en 2020. Abrumada por su carga de trabajo, el
pago de la escuela y con COVID-19 poniendo el mundo patas arriba, pensó en darse por
vencida y dejar la escuela.
Baer eligió la UNC por su reputación como líder en la formación de profesores, pero
aún así, nunca había estado en el campus. Fue entonces cuando su madre la metió en
el coche y la llevó a Greeley. Se enamoró del campus, especialmente de las bibliotecas.
"Mientras caminábamos por el campus, ella me decía: 'tienes que estar aquí'", dijo
Baer. "Ella fue ese apoyo motivacional que necesitaba".
A partir de ese momento, Baer se comprometió a terminar la carrera.
Ninguno de los dos padres de Baer asistió a la universidad y por eso querían que ella
tuviera éxito, sobre todo porque se había enamorado de la pedagogía cuando estudiaba
la prepa. Estudió en el instituto Mount Range y se incorporó al Programa de Cadetes
de Maestros del Instituto Técnico Bollman. Aunque en un principio quería enseñar en
primaria, la destinaron a secundaria y encontró su sitio perfecto. Dice que pudo superar
algunos de los aspectos que le parecían aburridos en la escuela, como las clases magistrales,
haciendo que los alumnos analizaran algo y llegaran a conclusiones por sí mismos,
para luego guiarlos en la lección a partir de ahí en lugar de empezar con una clase
magistral. Tras graduarse con un título de grado medio, dijo que la elección de la
UNC fue sencilla por el programa de enseñanza y la ayuda económica que recibiría.
Parte de esta ayuda económica consistió en una beca para estudiantes de intercambio.
Su papá la ayudó a pagar los libros y el seguro del coche, mientras que ella trabajó
para cubrir el resto de sus gastos, con el objetivo de graduarse sin ningún tipo de
deudas debido a los préstamos estudiantiles. Todo iba bien, y parecía que lo iba a
conseguir, hasta que en el último semestre, en el que tuvo que dar clases a tiempo
completo sin cobrar. Afortunadamente, sus profesores la propusieron para la beca Goodman
Teacher. Esta beca, creada por Casey ('10) y Lindsey ('10, '14) Goodman, ayuda a los
estudiantes durante su semestre de estudio y prácticas como maestrx.
"La beca Goodman Teacher Scholarship me ha dado esperanza y me ha proporcionado ese
empujón final para superar este próximo semestre, que será uno de los más duros que
he cursado", dijo Baer.
No sólo fueron sus profesores de la UNC quienes la nominaron para la beca, sino que
también la apoyaron increíblemente y estuvieron dispuestos a hacer todo lo posible
por ella. Uno de esos profesores es su asesora Kelly Langley-Cook, profesora del Departamento
de Historia de la UNC que también trabaja en el Programa de Formación de Profesores
de Secundaria.
"Dakota está muy comprometida con sus alumnos. Se reta constantemente a sí misma a
salir de su zona de confort para conocerlos realmente y atenderlos bien", dijo Langley-Cook.
"Dakota trabajó en una escuela alternativa durante el año pasado, donde los estudiantes
a menudo necesitan diferentes tipos de motivación y compromiso para conectarse con
el aprendizaje, y a ella se le ocurrieron algunas de las lecciones más creativas e
interactivas para asegurarse de que se sintieran conectados con la lección. La vi
tomar una clase que empezó siendo tranquila y desinteresada y convertirla en un lugar
vibrante de debate y aprendizaje".
Otro miembro del profesorado, T.J. Tomlin, catedrático de Historia, también disfrutó
viendo a Baer enseñar en el aula.
"En noviembre de 2022, tuve la oportunidad de observar a Dakota enseñar en un aula
de secundaria en Greeley. Como era de esperar, lleva a su propia clase la misma energía
dinámica que llevaba a mis clases", dijo Tomlin. "No tengo ninguna duda de que se
elevará como profesora y ayudará a sus alumnos a crecer, prosperar y sobresalir".
Gracias a este apoyo, Baer ha podido licenciarse en Filosofía y Letras y conseguir
un trabajo como profesora a partir de este otoño en la Eagle Ridge Academy de Brighton,
Colorado.
"Una vez que conectas con los estudiantes, y una vez que puedes llegar a ellos y a
su forma de aprender, es absolutamente increíble", dijo.
– escrito por Christina Abel, traducido por Carlos José Pérez Sámano
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