Emily Smitheimer's GLD Portfolio
Emily Smitheimer
University of South Carolina '22
B.A. Elementary Education
St. Joseph's University '24
M.A. Literacy & Cognition
About Me
My name is Emily Smitheimer and I graduated from the University of South Carolina with my Bachelors in Elementary Education with Leadership Distinction in Community Service in May of 2022. I am originally from Long Island, New York and have lived there all my life. I chose to attend the University of South Carolina because of the feeling I got when I stepped on campus for the first time in April of 2018. This feeling of home rushed through my body as I toured the campus with my family.
When I first started applying to college, I was not sure what I was going to study. I had considered a lot of different paths, but education continued to linger in my mind. Growing up, I was always in a classroom whether it be my own or my mom’s. My mom was a 2nd grade special education teacher for over 20 years. I remember going to my mom’s classroom each summer when I was younger to help her organize, clean, and prepare for the upcoming school year. I always had considered being a teacher, but it wasn’t until I began my job as a camp counselor that I realized how much I enjoyed working with children. That is when I decided that I was going to follow in my mom’s footsteps and become an elementary school teacher. Today, education for young learners is one of my main passions. I have been working at that same summer camp for six years now. My experience there has pushed me to fully absorb everything I could while I was at Carolina. My student teaching experiences have showed me how influential teachers are and how much education can impact a child. Seeing a student’s progress and growth from the beginning of the year to the end is so rewarding a valuable to both the student and the teacher.
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Currently, I am attending St. Joseph's University on Long Island, New York in pursuit of my Masters in Literacy and Cognition to pair with my Bachelors in Elementary Education. While I continue my education, I am continuing to work with children when I can. I am working as an after school child care assistant at Mount Elementary School as well as substituting in various elementary buildings in my local school district. When I was younger, I attended this after school program, and I remember how much I enjoyed the counselors there while I waited to get picked up. To this day, I still remember my favorite counselor’s name which shows just how impacted I was by her and the program.
I decided to pursue graduating with leadership distinction in the community service pathway because it is something I have been doing since I was in high school. Community service is very important because it can benefit the community and people who might be struggling. Volunteering my time to help others is something that I am passionate about and has only been emphasized in college. The University of South Carolina gives students an ample number of opportunities for community service. For instance, I have been exposed to Pawmetto Lifeline Animal Shelter and Final Victory Animal Shelter through the university. Here, I have volunteered my time to the animals in the shelter who do not have a home. The most memorable time I have experienced while doing community service was at Final Victory Animal Shelter. My first time at the shelter was when I met a young dog named Zable and I fell in love instantly. I took her on walks, played with her, and even fostered her for a whole day. I also planned an adoption event with my organization, Relay For Life, at the shelter called Paws For a Cause. Every couple of weeks I would check on Zable to see if she had gotten adopted. It was not until the end of the semester when I was dropping off some blankets that I had found out that she was adopted by a family with 2 children. Hearing that news made me feel so happy and allowed me to see that my service there came full circle. Engaging in community service is something that I plan on continuing to doing for the rest of my life.
