Education major Morgan Roussel found a home and a future at UL Lafayette

Written byElizabeth Rose-Arcuri

鈥淚 always wanted to work with kids. Middle school is such a hard time, and they need qualified teachers.鈥

Morgan Roussel
Graduation Year
Class of 2022
Major
Middle School Education
Hometown
Houston, TX

Where I'm From

I鈥檓 from Houston, where I struggled to find a college that fit for me.

Where I Am

I found a new home at UL Lafayette and I鈥檓 majoring in middle school education.

Where I'm Going

I鈥檓 going to be a teacher and share my love of math with students. 

From the moment Houston native Morgan Roussel came to campus for a tour, she knew the 欧美三级片 was the best college for her.

鈥淓veryone was very accepting. They wanted to know about me and asked me specific questions about what I was looking for in a college,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y tour guide was really friendly 鈥 and none of the other tours even asked me my name.鈥

鈥淭hey felt like they weren鈥檛 looking for a specific type of student, which is what a lot of the Texas universities were looking for. They were just looking for people who wanted to be around people.鈥

For Morgan, part of UL Lafayette鈥檚 appeal was the College of Education鈥檚 impressive reputation. She decided to major in middle school education with a concentration in mathematics.

鈥淚 always wanted to work with kids. Middle school is such a hard time, and they need qualified teachers,鈥 she said.

Because of the connections she鈥檚 made in her college and on campus, Morgan鈥檚 confident about her future.

鈥淚 feel like after I graduate I can almost guarantee having a job in the education field just because of the connections that all of the professors have, and they鈥檙e teaching us so well,鈥 Morgan said.

A big part of life for all education majors at UL Lafayette is the hands-on experience they get in local schools.

鈥淲e have to go into classrooms every semester to observe before we start student teaching, and you鈥檙e observing a classroom before you start student teaching in the same classroom,鈥 Morgan explained. 鈥淚t very much prepares us for how it鈥檚 going to be, as well as teaching us strategies to use on the job.鈥

Morgan is looking forward to her Teacher Residency, which is a year-long student teaching experience.

鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to creating a relationship with the teacher who has been teaching for a while, and seeing how they handle a classroom versus how I would like to,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 think student teaching is such a cool opportunity 鈥 it's like putting a foot in the door of teaching so I won鈥檛 be completely new to it when I start the job. It鈥檒l give me some really good experience beforehand.鈥

On campus, Morgan鈥檚 classes are teaching her important skills she鈥檒l need to lead a classroom.

鈥淚t comes down to: We should be knowledgeable in our subject, but we also need to be compassionate and we need to be flexible,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd we also should be knowledgeable about all types of children so we can properly manage a classroom. It has really just taught me flexibility and problem-solving skills.鈥