Education student finds inspirational profs at UHCL, lands job before graduating

April 13, 2020 | Katherine Adams

After taking courses in engineering for more than two years at University of Houston-Clear Lake, Shereen Baba decided that she’d like to work with children. She changed her degree plan to education and attended an Early Childhood Hawks Organization meeting, where she met Associate Professor of Special Education Elizabeth Beavers.

“That’s when everything changed,” Baba said. “After that meeting, I said I knew what I wanted to do.” She will be graduating this May with her Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with core subjects early childhood-6 and special education certification EC-12.

Since then, Baba said she’d been absorbing all she could from Beavers. “I love the way teachers spend time teaching the special education students and don’t look at them any differently than the other students,” she said. “Working with Dr. Beavers is amazing because she’s so knowledgeable and she takes such pride in what she teaches. That’s what I loved about her classes.”

Baba said she felt very prepared for her future career as a classroom teacher. “I’m very excited that I just got hired to teach second grade at Challenger Elementary in Pearland Independent School District,” she said. “This is the school where I did my teaching internship. My class will be general education students with special education students’ inclusion. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

Baba said she felt ready to excel in her classroom because she had benefited from the resources she’d been provided to help her grow as a person as well as a teacher. “I had relationships with all my professors so they were guiding me on the right path,” she said. “I always felt that I had an extra push. The professors in the College of Education want you to be more rigorous and challenge yourself to take the next step.”

“Shereen exemplifies the attributes of a teacher candidate, and I am so proud for her as she takes the next steps in her professional journey,” Beavers said. “She is inquisitive, has a strong work ethic, a kind heart, seeks to understand, and embraces challenges with grit and integrity. These are the very things that will make her a quality teacher.”

Beavers added that College of Education faculty pride themselves in working at a teaching institution whereby they can build relationships with students and nurture their process in becoming confident educators.

Baba said that she would continue to check in with her professors even after she graduates. “It gets tough, so it’s good to have someone to talk to about things,” she said. “I’m most looking forward to building relationships with my students and their parents.”

Learn more online about UHCL’s College of Education.