{"id":337,"date":"2020-09-23T14:13:44","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T18:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/online\/?p=337"},"modified":"2020-12-14T12:10:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T17:10:32","slug":"summer-job-leads-alissa-m-to-career-in-early-childhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/online\/2020\/09\/summer-job-leads-alissa-m-to-career-in-early-childhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Job Leads Alissa M. to Career in Early Childhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was summer and college-bound Alissa Mwenelupembe needed a job. Her mother suggested she go up the street to a child care center since \u201cshe liked kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty years later, having devoted her life\u2019s energies to teaching, coaching, directing, volunteering, advocating, consulting, and researching early childhood education, Alissa still<\/em> likes kids.<\/p>\n

Alissa realized she\u2019d found her field after a couple of career-entry jobs in early childhood education. When she decided to pursue a master\u2019s degree that specialized in child development, the closest one was in Chicago, several hours from her home and workplace in Evansville, Indiana. As a Hoosier educator, she knew that Ball State offered innovative and reputable online programs in education.<\/p>\n

\u2018Online Essential for People Like Me\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cOnline learning is essential for people like me who don\u2019t have an opportunity to attend a program nearby and are working full time,\u201d<\/em> says Alissa, who eventually learned that she could pursue a fully online master\u2019s in elementary education with a concentration in early childhood education. \u201cBall State met my needs 100 percent.\u201d<\/em><\/h4>\n

For all the advantages of online programs, Alissa felt they had one drawback. \u201cThey can be lonely!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But that didn\u2019t prevent her from making a life-changing connection with one of her professors, Dr. Linda Taylor, assistant professor of early childhood, youth, and family studies.<\/p>\n

Met Online Mentor Face to Face<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cOne year I was presenting at a conference in Indianapolis, and Dr. Taylor was waiting outside of the room to meet me face to face,\u201d says Alissa. \u201cThat was probably the most meaningful thing that happened to me during my program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Taylor has continued to mentor her throughout her career, she says.<\/p>\n

Today, Alissa is the inclusion specialist with SPARK Learning Lab, a statewide technical assistance provider for Indiana early childhood education programs. In this role, she is creating tools and resources for early childhood educators across the state of Indiana.<\/p>\n

Inclusion Drives Her Research<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cInclusion is so important to me,\u201d says Alissa, whose research interests cover social-emotional development of Black children, primarily those living in families and communities that are not a racial match.<\/p>\n

Convinced that Ball State is the advanced education option for Indiana educators, she is now pursuing an online Ed.D. in elementary education<\/strong><\/span><\/a> with an emphasis in early childhood education and cognates in diversity studies and adult education.<\/p>\n

Alissa is co-editor of Each and Every Childhood: Teaching Pre-School with an Equity Lens<\/em>, which explores topics ranging from how teachers can examine personal biases to guiding children\u2019s conversations about identity and equity.<\/p>\n

Provides Consulting for Today\u2019s Educators<\/strong><\/h2>\n

She also conducts workshops, presentations, and keynote talks through her private consulting firm, We Are Better Together Consulting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy helping teachers reflect on their work and administrators dream of new ways to retain and motivate their staff,\u201d she says. \u201cI believe that when directors have a strong vision, their programs will succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says \u2018Now is Moment\u2019 for Early Childhood<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After serving various roles with the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Alissa today is a member of the Council for NAEYC Accreditation Programs for Young Children and says \u201cright now is our moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNAEYC, and other organizations supporting early childhood educators, have come together to create a movement called \u2018Power to the Profession,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cThe goal of P2P is to professionalize the field of early childhood education so that our educators get the respect and pay that they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was summer and college-bound Alissa Mwenelupembe needed a job. Her mother suggested she go up the street to a child care center since \u201cshe liked kids.\u201d Twenty years later, having devoted her life\u2019s energies to teaching, coaching, directing, volunteering, advocating, consulting, and researching early childhood education, Alissa still likes kids. Alissa realized she\u2019d found […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[51,7],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-and-faculty-stories","tag-elementary-education","tag-masters"],"yoast_head":"\nSummer Job Leads Alissa M. to Career in Early Childhood - Ball State Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alissa Mwenelupembe has devoted her life\u2019s energies to leaving an impact. 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