Jonathan Fitzsimmons, MA in History / Secondary Education, 2018
My experiences at Salisbury University, all of which are positive, date back to around 2007 when I enrolled as a transfer student from a local community college. I had decided to pursue a degree in Political Science degree with a minor in History. Upon graduating in December of 2009, I honestly had no direction and floundered from dead-end job to dead-end job for years until 2016 when a life-changing event caused me to pause and re-evaluate.
Remembering the positivity and community of my years at Salisbury University, I perused their website for graduate degrees for which I qualified, felt passionate about, could make a difference with, and would get me hired when I finished. I found myself gravitating towards the M.A.T. program and after more reading and research, I applied. I was interviewed and accepted to the program, which began a very enjoyable and rewarding two years.
During those two years I was able to interact with others who were passionate about teaching and making a difference. I was introduced to professors who truly cared about their students and wanted them to succeed. Every professor within the program went that “extra mile” for their students and did their best to mold us into the educators of the future. The program was rigorous, and by graduation I was fully prepared to enter the classroom and succeed from day one. The cohort in which I was enrolled became a small family; one which supported one another through difficulties and celebrated successes.
It was during my time in the program when I lost my father, and I remember the professors and my cohort being extremely supportive and understanding during that hard time, with one member of my cohort even attending the funeral. Not only do you gain knowledge to succeed as an educator, you also gain lifelong friends and colleagues. Without the support of these wonderful people, I doubt I would have mustered up the strength to continue in the program, and in fact, I thrived so much I qualified for Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education.
Upon graduation from the program, I accepted a position with Talbot County Public Schools, where I continue to teach, and enjoy it so much that there is not a day in my working life that I doubt that I made the right decision. I enjoy the field of education so much that I immediately enrolled in Salisbury University’s “Contemporary Curriculum Theory and Instruction: Literacy” Doctoral Program. I anticipate completion of that degree in 2023, and although I do not know what my next steps will be or what the future holds, I do have the M.A.T. program to thank for all my current and future successes.