My name is Meredith Bogush and I am from the small town of Middleburg, Virginia, known as the center of American horse riding and fox hunting. For the past six years, I have been deeply involved in the elementary school classroom both in the United States and abroad. My first year of teaching was as part of AmeriCorps where I taught fourth grade at a Title I school located in Washington DC. I have been fortunate to be able to teach a total of four years to many wonderful underprivileged students from the District of Columbia. I now teach at a private school in Northern Virginia that is focused students who have difficulty reaching their full potential in traditional schools. While teaching in the District of Columbia I developed various educational procedures and tools to assist teachers within their classrooms. My measured success programs and focus on classroom enthusiasm were so effective that the school asked me and district leadership to share my concepts with teachers at all levels within our school consortium. This encouraged me to pursue a Masters in Teaching Special Education at Trinity University in Washington DC.
Shortly after graduating, I began travelling abroad volunteering in India, Senegal, and England. These additional experiences gave me opportunity to experience various approaches foreign communities apply to the education of their young people. It was these opportunities that coalesced my beliefs and helped me grow with confidence as an educator.
Initially, when I began teaching, I wanted to stay in the classroom. As my background has expanded, I now want to inspire beyond the general classroom and into the workforce; after all, we are preparing our students to become outstanding contributors to society and it is the teacher's responsibility to facilitate that happening. How culture’s perception of education affects a local economy is a topic that I am interested in learning more about. I would plan on linking education policy, economy, student’s responsibilities, and the community’s perceptions towards education in a given geographic area and its measureable impact upon the student population.
My diverse work experiences, enthusiastic approach, innovative and student focused teaching style, underscore my passion to help educate effectively. I am eager to begin the CWE Doctoral Program as it is a rigorous yet collaborative study that that will enable me to integrate academics with career and workforce. I am confident that the University of South Florida is the best fit towards achieving my professional goals.
