High school students with a serious interest in education visited Tennessee’s first public teacher-training university Tuesday, March 7, to learn more about becoming educators with the help of a degree from MTSU.

Bobbi Lussier, executive director of the Office of Professional Laboratory Experience and Teacher Licensure in MTSU’s College of Education, welcomes a group of Tennessee high school students, all members of Future Teachers of America, to an MTSU campus tour Tuesday, March 7. Students from Cocke County High School, Franklin County High School, Siegel High School and the University School of Nashville visited as part of the Tennessee Education Association’s annual “Civication” event for prospective teachers. (MTSU photos by J. Intintoli)

Fifty-plus young members of Future Teachers of America chapters at Cocke County High School, Franklin County High School, Siegel High School and the University School of Nashville toured the rain-soaked Murfreesboro campus to learn about enrolling in a degree program with MTSU’s College of Education, getting scholarships, staying healthy and active while they’re earning their degrees and what to expect as college students.

Their visit was part of the Tennessee Education Association’s annual two-day “Civication” event, which invites FTA members to visit the state Capitol during spring break and learn about education legislation.

With MTSU on the way for several groups attending “Civication,” it made sense to arrange an informational visit before a scheduled trip to Legislative Plaza.

Dr. Jim Rost, manager of student success and advising services for MTSU’s College of Education, was among several campus leaders who spoke with the visitors. He told the aspiring young educators that each will find a different, but best-suited, path of teaching.

“I found my own calling, and I committed to serving a different population (than a K-12 teacher): as an administrator and in teaching higher education,” Rost said. “The best thing about my job is not the paycheck. It’s the fact that I get to talk with people like you guys and somehow have a positive impact on someone at the end of each day.”

Future Teachers of America helps prepare future educators for the classroom as they become involved at the local, state and national levels of the TEA to advocate on behalf of children and public education. The National Education Association chartered the first high school chapter in Wyoming in 1936, and in only 15 years, the organization expanded nationwide to include more than 1,200 high school and college chapters and 40,000-plus young members.

You can learn more about MTSU’s College of Education anytime at www.mtsu.edu/education.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

MTSU senior Alex Fingeroot, center, a political science major from Nashville, explains campus recreation options in front of the climbing wall at the Student Recreation, Wellness and Health Center Tuesday, March, 7, to a group of Tennessee high school students and their teachers during an MTSU campus tour. Students from Cocke County High School, Franklin County High School, Siegel High School and the University School of Nashville visited as part of the Tennessee Education Association’s annual “Civication” event for prospective teachers.