{"id":3737,"date":"2021-02-15T09:15:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T15:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2021-02-15T09:15:47","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T15:15:47","slug":"northwest-technical-college-graduate-discovers-future-in-early-childhood-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/2021\/02\/15\/northwest-technical-college-graduate-discovers-future-in-early-childhood-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwest Technical College Graduate Discovers Future in Early Childhood Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Northwest Technical College graduate Tessa Solo didn’t always envision herself as a teacher. Now, with an associate of applied science degree in child care and education, she is learning how to be a teacher in a global pandemic.<\/p>\n

“I never had any intentions of working with kids,” she said. “But there were a couple elementary teachers who made a huge impact on me and if I can make even the slightest positive impact on a child’s life I want to do that.”<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Williams, Minn., Solo went to work at Marvin Windows & Doors after graduating high school in 2017. She then attended Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls, Minn., where she earned a degree in liberal arts, but was still unsure of what she wanted to do with her future.<\/p>\n

“I moved back home and started doing daycare with my sister after I had finished my first semester of college,” Solo said. “I loved taking care of all the neighborhood kids so I called Northwest Tech to see what programs they had to offer and Early Childhood Education sounded right up my alley.”<\/p>\n

Solo started at NTC in the fall of 2018 and during the spring semester of her first year she decided to apply for a lead teacher position at the Head Start program in Grand Rapids, Minn.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t think they were going to hire me because I hadn’t completed my degree yet, but I ended up doing my internship with them and they hired me full-time once I received my degree,” Solo said. “I applied for a job that I didn’t think I was ever going to get, but with a little hard work my tables had turned.”<\/p>\n

Starting a new career can be daunting regardless of a pandemic, but Solo said her experience has revealed new ways of teaching and learning for both teachers and students.<\/p>\n

“I think going through the pandemic has only made me better as an early childhood professional,” she said.<\/p>\n

Solo credits NTC’s small class sizes and dedicated faculty for leading her to a path of success. Heather Sutherland, Solo’s mentor and early childhood education faculty member at NTC, was instrumental in helping Solo persevere toward her dream job.<\/p>\n

“I loved the one-on-one time that I got with Sutherland, she is the person who pushed me all the way till the end,” Solo said. “On the days I wanted to quit, she was the one telling me that it would all be worth it in the end, and she was right.”<\/p>\n

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