Katie Staffanson
junior, elementary education
Sidney, MT
By Cassie Winter, University Communications and Marketing Intern
What did you want to do when you grew up?
鈥淚 always said I didn't want to be a teacher because my older sisters were teachers. I thought I needed to be different. So way back when, I always said [I was going into] nursing. Then I started working at a preschool. One day we were making a crazy art project and there was blue paint and sparkles鈥攖his huge mess with all these little children. I was like, this is what I want to do. It鈥檚 crazy but it鈥檚 wonderful. I鈥檓 pretty excited to be a teacher, maybe here, maybe Kenya.鈥�
Why Kenya
鈥淚 was on a ministry assignment at this school over the summer. Almost all the children there were orphans. I was able to teach them, sang songs and ran around and played with them鈥�
What was the hardest part?
鈥淭he teachers at the school had a meeting and asked my ministry partner and I to watch the kids finish eating their porridge and to not let them leave. So we have all these kids in this room and they get done with their porridge and just went crazy. They wanted out so bad and all we know is that we were told to keep the kids inside the room. So they thought it was a hilarious game to try and escape. They tried to climb out the windows and kept pushing each other around. We did this for like twenty minutes, chasing little kids all over the place.鈥�
鈥淭he kids were so fun. Sometimes they were frustrating but I love them so much.鈥�