“I realized that I’ve always had a passion for teaching”
A future career as an educator wasn’t the long-term plan for Jake Kruger ’14 when he came to Allegheny College. As a Psychology major with a Religious Studies minor, he envisioned himself going down a much different path. However, somewhere along his Allegheny journey, he had a change of heart.
“I realized that I’ve always had a passion for teaching,” he says. “Sitting in class, I have always imagined how I would do things if I were the teacher.”
Upon finding his calling, Jake joined Allegheny’s Pre-Education Club to explore his options. He learned about graduate school pre-requisites, job opportunities and internships. He became especially interested in and ultimately applied to the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education. Through a special agreement between Allegheny and Pitt, qualified Allegheny students receive priority consideration for graduate admission.
Jake begins his graduate work in elementary education this fall. “I don’t believe that I would be going to Pitt if it weren’t for Allegheny,” he says. “The Allegheny-Pitt relationship was a great start.”
His Allegheny education has provided solid footing for a future in education. “As a future elementary school teacher who will have to teach everything, I have experience in all subjects. Allegheny’s liberal arts education helped me to develop an exceptionable ability for and confidence in public speaking and to write well, and it molded in me into a leader.”