Katie Smidt

 

 

I graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology in the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2021, I completed education licensure for 9-12 Life Science, and 5-8 Science Endorsement.  In the spring of 2022, I will have earned a master’s in education with K-12 Reading Licensure. 

 

I taught preschool from 2018 to 2021 and in 2020 I facilitated a classroom for 1st through 3rd grade students during the school shutdown. I have completed multiple clinicals and placements in grades ranging from kindergarten to 12th. In the fall of 2021, I student taught at St. Louis Park public schools in their middle-school and high-school. 

 

 

I have always loved school and I have always loved science. In 2013, my younger brother, Carter, was diagnosed with cancer and I become obsessed with genetics and trying to understand the etiopathogenesis of his disease.  Carter passed away in 2015, the year that I started college. I carry him with me in my heart and his memory continues to guide me. My freshman year of college, I was not sure what I wanted to do with my future - only that I wanted to help people. I decided to major in biology and chemistry due to my fascination with science. I completed an EMT course and was on the track to apply for a physician assistant program. After spending additional time in the hospital for clinicals, I quickly decided that this profession was not for me. The hospital reminded me too much of the hard times that my family went through during my brother’s fight. During my undergraduate education I taught preschool and can honestly say that my job was the highlight of my day. I fell in love with working with kids. I graduated from college in 2019 and was still unsure what path I wanted to follow. My aunt, the head of the education program at my university, convinced me to take ED 101. I realized within my first day of lab hours that this was the path for me. I was placed at a middle school and the smiles and goofiness of those students quickly reminded me of Carter. I started an education program that allowed me to become licensed for science while working toward a master’s degree in education with emphasis in reading. I love to read, it is my favorite hobby in my free-time; and the opportunity to share this with my students is something I greatly look forward to. I am so happy with the choice that I have made to become an educator, and am grateful for the path that brought me here.