Karen Krull is the future of our society. Well, at least she’s the future of education. A senior from St. Louis, Mo., Karen is an elementary education major with an emphasis in exceptional child education. Southeast is known for its nationally accredited education program, and Karen is one of the many promising and motivated education majors who have started their careers at Southeast.
“With the small class sizes at Southeast, I knew I would have the best possible college experience. I wanted to have more hands-on experience and be able to interact with classmates, professors and children on a regular basis. Southeast provided all the opportunities I wanted in an education program.”
Karen says the block programs the education department offers prepares education majors for the true-to-life classroom experience.
“In my Block I class, I observed classroom teaching at St. Mary’s Grade School. Then in my Block II class, the lectures and classroom experiences could be applied to my field experiences at Jackson South Elementary School. I learned to make lesson plans and then taught a number of lessons on my own throughout the semester.”
There are plenty of ways to get experience outside of the classroom as well. Karen is the president of The Council for Exceptional Children. The group of future teachers works with students with special needs through volunteer opportunities, such as Special Olympics and The Boys & Girls Club. Karen says being president of the council has been a great opportunity.
“It has helped me to be sure this is what I want to do after I graduate by giving me experiences working with the community. Interacting with families and children has made me more familiar with the daily life of the children I want to be working with.”
Karen is also a member of Southeast’s Multicultural Recruitment team and the Student Ambassadors. She is also a relentless runner. You’ll likely see her on the sidewalks of Southeast in her spare time.
Karen will graduate in December of 2005, after completing a semester of student teaching in Kenya or Australia.