Hi! My name is Erin Moore. I live in a small suburb in Kansas, about 30 miles southwest of Kansas City. I joined the MAT@USC in April 2010 and love the program. I received my BA in Liberal Arts from Pepperdine University in December 1996. When I was in college I had the intention of becoming an elementary teacher, but changed my mind. I spent one year working on my MA in English, but decided this also was not the right path for me, at least at the time. Fourteen years later I have finally come full circle to wanting to be a teacher again.
In the 14 years that I have been away from school, I got married and have been raising my three children. With all three of my kids in school, I finally felt that I had the time to devote to becoming a teacher. In fact, I found this program when I was looking into other programs that are here in Kansas.
So why did I choose USC? Well, I am a stay-at-home mom and I hate being away from home any more than is absolutely necessary. The schools here in Kansas would have given me my teaching credentials, but I would not have earned a MA or any other degree. Most were evening programs that would have taken at least two years to complete. The MAT@USC seemed to be the perfect answer for me—teaching credentials, MA in teaching, completed online, and all in 1 year.
The classes in the program so far have been intense, but very interesting. My professors have been great, and the online learning community has been a fun way to “go” to school. I get to sit at home, wear whatever I want, be comfortable, and “go” to class. While an online program may not be best for everyone, it has allowed me to be home when my kids get home from school, which is very important to me. I am really looking forward to being a teacher in less than a year and eventually having a class of my own. Go Trojans!
