Junior education major gets the classroom perspective early

By Tristan Leach

Grinning in a cranberry Rider crewneck, Lindsay Sherman excitedly bounced in her chair. Her eyes widened with excitement and her eyebrows rose with her voice as she talked about her love for life at Rider.

Sherman, a junior majoring in elementary education, is what some would call booked and busy. The dedicated junior is a sister of Alpha Xi Delta (AXID), content tutor, tour guide, president of the Student Education Association (SEA), treasurer of Rider’s Unified Sports and a general member of the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC).

Her whole life, Sherman has loved school, picking not only her major, but her clubs, to fit her passion.

“There are so many reasons I want to be a teacher, [and] I think the main reason is I genuinely love school,” said Sherman. “I’ve always loved learning. I’m the first person to raise my hand in class. I love participating in education.”

Sherman’s love for education has landed her in some premier positions on campus. Not only is she president of SEA but she is also an Andrew J. Rider scholar. The hardworking junior has maintained straight As and has achieved a 4.0 GPA.

“You get a letter saying you’re in the top one percent of your college. I’m in the top one percent for my grade,” said Sherman. “Which is very exciting, but very hard.”

Sherman has been an Andrew J. Rider scholar, the highest undergraduate achievement at Rider, since her freshman year of college and continues to work hard to keep this achievement.

Working hard is all Sherman does. Outside of school, she runs a sewing company by the name of Sunshine Stitches Co., tutors kids, sings at parties and charity events.

Despite her extremely busy schedule Sherman puts her all into every task. Whether it’s attending a sorority function or giving a tour, she is laser focused and ready to give the most.

Sherman rushed sororities last spring semester and ultimately ended up in AXID. The dedicated sister joined for the philanthropy aspect and to meet more people.

Amongst her sisters is Amanda Conover, a junior elementary education major.

“There are so many qualities that I think makes Lindsay a good sister of AXID,” said Conover. “She’s so compassionate toward other people and is very empathetic. She is always there for you.”

Her hard work has paid off in her professional career too. Sherman and other education majors all participate in practicum classes. These courses prepare students for field work or student teaching, and this semester, Sherman was assigned her dream grade level: kindergarten.

Laurel Meskill, a junior elementary education major, is Sherman’s roommate and one of her best friends.

“What makes Lindsay a very good candidate for a kindergarten teacher is that she has this personality where she is very bubbly but she knows when things need to be controlled. She knows when to let kids be kids,” said Meskill.

Every Thursday morning, Sherman and her two roommates get up around 6 a.m. and get ready for field work. Sherman and her friends pick out dresses that make the others say “That is just so sweet!”

Sherman jokingly mentioned that she “manifested” the job. The truth is that her love for school, good grades, kind nature and hard work have landed her in her dream job, even if it will only be for a semester. Sherman isn’t looking at that fact in a negative way, however. She sees it as the perfect opportunity to learn how to be a good teacher.

Sherman said, “My dream is to work as a kindergarten teacher in my hometown.”

Sherman is originally from Westfield, New Jersey and has found inspiration in family, friends and teachers she has worked with. Whenever the work feels like it is too much or that the stress is about to win, Sherman thinks of those people.

“My mom is a big inspiration, she works in a school. She’s a paraprofessional and I used to go with her to bring your child to work day. And that just showed me how much I love teaching,” she explained.

So she continues to work hard, achieving the highest grades and putting her all into the homework that even Sherman finds difficult. For Sherman there is no reason to quit or stop trying. Once she has her mind set on something she will do it and Sherman has and will continue to.