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Annaliese Autry’s
journey to Dalton State started with a detour.
After enrolling at Kennesaw State in the fall of 2005, the
Flintstone native decided that a big urban school wasn’t for
her.
“I stayed there for two days and knew that it wasn’t right for
me,” says Autry, who graduated as salutatorian of her class at
Ridgeland High School.
“When I tried to find someone to answer my questions at
Kennesaw, I ended up talking to a computer that instructed me to
call back and talk to another computer. I came back home and
enrolled in Dalton State, where I was welcomed with open arms.
Here, I always had a human voice on the other end of the phone
and people who were willing to answer all of my questions.”
One of the initial plusses of her transfer, Autry says, was to
land on a campus which had an attractive and manageable physical
environment. “At Kennesaw, everything was so far apart, but
here, you can walk to almost anywhere on campus within eight to
ten minutes.”
Now 22 and a senior in the B.S. in Early Childhood Education
(ECE) program, Autry is grateful for the attention she’s
received from the College staff, the inspiration she’s received
from her professors, and the rigor she’s faced from an
academically challenging curriculum. |
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“It’s been tough, very
strenuous,” she says of the four-year bachelor’s degree program
in education. “But I have no doubt that I will be more than
prepared to teach when I finish. I have no doubts about my
ability to manage a classroom after completing this program.”
Autry’s desire to enter the field of teaching began at a very
early age.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, ever since I could talk or
play with my first doll,” she recalls. “My mother is an English
teacher, and she had my sister, Meghan, and me playing school
from the time we could hold a book.”
Her interest in “playing school” continued after she entered
elementary school, when she and her best friend would spend
afternoons taking turns playing the roles of teacher and the
student.
“Teaching has always been my passion,” she insists.
One of the benefits of the Dalton State program, Autry believes,
is the exposure ECE students have to grade levels ranging from
kindergarten through fifth grade.
“For a long time I thought that I wanted to teach second grade,
but the program puts us in different placements, and I have
really fallen in love with kids in all of the age groups. It
helps for us to see differing needs and expectations within the
various grade levels. There’s always something new to learn.”
In the Dalton State program, she has enjoyed all of her classes,
she says, particularly “methods” courses because of the
“hands-on” component which translates well into her classroom
practicums. And she’s enjoyed learning about other cultures in
her Expressions of Culture and English as a Second Language
(ESOL) courses.
“Both of those courses have really opened my eyes to the
obstacles that many of my fellow students have had to face.”
Autry has nothing but high praise for the instructors and
professors who have taught her for the past four years.
“The professors are so inspiring,” she says. “They want us to
succeed. Most of them are willing to stay after class when we’ve
needed, and several have even emailed answers to my questions
late at night.”
Next semester, Autry will be doing her student teaching at
Chattanooga Valley Elementary School, and she hopes to be
employed by a Northwest Georgia school system by fall of 2009.
Currently, Autry is president of the Future Teachers
organization on campus and was recently elected as president of
Kappa Delta Pi, a sorority for future teachers.
“As for my future, I used to think that I might want to be a
principal one day, but now I think I’d like to become a master
teacher,” she says. “In any event, I know that I’ll do whatever
I can to become a lifelong learner, and I’ll begin pursuing my
master’s and specialists’ degrees before too long.”
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