Lindsay Bryner started a graduate certificate program at WNMU to become qualified to teach at the college level, and in Dr. Heather Steimann’s Advanced Composition course, she completed an article that was published in the fully refereed journal “Education and Society” this July.
Lindsay lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and took advantage of the online program offerings at WNMU, which was recommended by teachers she worked with.
“Along with taking us step-by-step through the process developing our essays, Dr. Steinmann did a great thing from the start: She said, ‘Choose a topic that’s personal to you,’” Lindsay said. “Through the use of research in academic journals and articles as well as personal anecdotes, I attempt to prove that if the right changes are made then the teacher retention rate can be improved. Since students are the best possible investment in our future, it would be great to be able to retain teachers who are passionate about teaching and have experience in the classroom so students can graduate and go on to contribute to society the best they can.”
Lindsay enjoyed the peer interaction that was encouraged by WNMU. “We’d read each other’s papers and comment and discuss them. I got to learn about what my classmates each truly cared about,” she said.
Though she already had a master’s degree and was working toward graduate certificate, Lindsay realized that another desired qualification for college level teaching applicants is being published in a scholarly journal. “I would have never submitted a piece to a publisher if it hadn’t been for Dr. Steinmann’s class,” Lindsay said.
She did the bulk of her coursework over the summers and finished some in the fall 2020 semester when she found out she was expecting. “I’m home with my five-month-old now,” Lindsay said. “But WNMU prepared me for any future teaching that I do.”