Jenna Furman: SOE supports her career goals
Jenna Furman received her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Covenant College and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in reading education from VCU. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the VCU School of Education.
As an educator in Richmond Public Schools and Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS), Jenna Furman says that VCU and the School of Education have supported her career goals by providing many opportunities to try new things and meet people from a variety of careers.
“Experiences such as my graduate assistantship writing and research tasks, co-curricular research groups, externship with CCPS alternative education, and the networking and social activities through departments and student organizations, all have been invaluable,” she said. “Most importantly, my adviser connected me with many positive experiences including conferences and networking with former students and other researchers.”
We caught up with Furman to find out more about her experience at VCU, and what she likes about teaching.
What have you liked most about your program experience so far?
I am so thankful for the professors in the education program. Every professor I've had has been genuinely interested in what their students bring with them into the program, has challenged me to dig deeper into the problems with new research tools, and has had an open door for extending the learning after the course is over.
What do you like most about being a teacher?
I love watching students have lightbulb moments, work hard on a project in which they have an interest, and find out that they are capable of new skills.