Noyce Scholar Profile
Stefanie Wagner
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Secondary Education, Mathematics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics, grades 9-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Master Teaching Fellow
Name of Noyce institution:
Clemson University
Current academic or teaching status:
Graduate School
School and school district:
Do not have practicum site yet
Background:
Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed adventures in the back yard with my younger sister, exploring every sport known to man and trying to adopt every animal I came in contact with. Although I am originally from Maryland, after attending Clemson and my first football game in “Death Valley”, I knew I was hooked and would never be able to leave Clemson for long.
Why do you want to teach:
After graduating from Clemson University in 2011 with a B.S in Mathematical Sciences, I had been accepted to teach English in a very, very small village in San Joaquin, Costa Rica. Here I spent a little over six months living with a host family, learning all that I could from my small town and sixteen students. Once I returned to the States, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to teach Math! Teaching and watching my students grow gave me the most fulfilling feeling, and I knew that if I loved teaching English abroad, then teaching math would be ten times the fun!
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
While I was teaching in Costa Rica, I had one of my 2nd grade students come up to me during my last week there and she said in PERFECT English, “Teacher I need you, please do not leave.” I began to cry and hugged her. Our last unit in English class was on the difference between “need” and “want” and how a need is something we could not live without. In that moment I knew more than anything that I was born to teach because there are so many students out there that need someone to care and a helping hand.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce Tigers Teach program means so much to me because it has helped me make my dream of becoming a high school math teacher a possibility. This program has given me the opportunity to complete graduate school over the course of a year rather than slowly working towards my master’s while teaching. This way when I start teaching my students will have the best possible teacher I can be.
