Interview Series: Graduate Student

This week, I'm sharing an interview with Joanna McReynolds. She's an elementary ESL teacher in Normal, IL, and she has a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and TESOL from the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse. She is currently a graduate student pursuing a Master’s degree in Education from Illinois State University. She grew up in Ethiopia, attended high school in Kenya, and has lived in several countries. She is looking forward to moving to Colombia, South America to teach third grade at an international school for the upcoming school year. 

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Question: As an ESL teacher & grad student, what does an average day look like for you?

JM: I typically try to spend the time during my planning periods and before school working on lesson planning or anything that is related to teaching. After school, evenings and weekends are dedicated to my grad classes. Depending on the classes I am taking during a particular semester, some are heavier workloads than others, so my weekends usually consist of several hours of working on those classes. 

Question: What is your favorite part of your job?

JM: I know it is a cliche answer, but it's the interactions that I have with my students. The paperwork, meetings and testing that is also a big part of my job is definitely my least favorite part. My position is also nice in that I am not as busy as a typical classroom teacher. I used to teach 2nd grade and I remember that there was so much more I had to do having a classroom versus now where I have a specialist role. I also have flexibility when it comes to taking time off since our school district has an ESL pull-out program, whenever I need to be gone I do not have to request a substitute. So I love not having to write sub plans! 

Question: What is the most difficult part of balancing grad school and full-time work?

JM: I would say that the work is never ending. I always have something that I could be working on and so I have to be really intentional about setting small goals for myself of what I want/need to accomplish for the day because otherwise it can get overwhelming. Also setting aside time to not work on work or school is important, so I typically try to stop working after dinner so that I can have time to do things that are not work/school related. 

Question: How did your previous experiences in work, school, and life prepare you for what you are doing today?

JM: The practice of having to balance multiple responsibilities is something I have had to do both in high school and my undergraduate years. I went to boarding school when I was thirteen so I learned quickly how to be responsible, not having something to wake me up to make sure I wasn’t late for school or tell me to do my homework. Time management has been a skill that has helped me transition into starting my masters while simultaneously working full time. 

Question: What advice do you have for students who are considering graduate school?

JM: Set boundaries for yourself, especially if you are working as well as doing grad school. Having designated times where you can devote yourself to working on grad school is helpful and it forces you to be productive with the time you give yourself.  Think about what kind of experience you would like to have. I chose a fully online option based on my career. I am so thankful looking back that I chose that option because it provided me with more flexibility of when I could carve out the time to work on my grad courses instead of having to attend a 2-3 hour class in a physical building. But if you want the physical interaction with professors and peers then consider doing an in-person option.

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Deciding Your Direction will continue discussing graduate school in a future installment... stay tuned!

- JS