BRENNA SCHLADER
Southeast Senior Enjoyed International Teaching Experience
College of Education

For most Southeast students, traveling abroad means participating as a student in a foreign country.  Not for Southeast art education major, Brenna Schlader of Columbia, Mo.  For Brenna, the role was actually reversed because she was the teacher.

As an art major, Brenna student taught last fall in Rome, Italy, at an international school, the American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) on the Cassia in Roma.  “It was the experience of a lifetime, and I loved visiting the center of Rome, the Vatican City, and the Borghese Galleria,” Brenna said.

Brenna has accepted a position teaching fifth through eighth grade art at Senn-Thomas Middle School in Herculaneum, Mo.  Brenna, who played on the Southeast volleyball team for four years, will also be the assistant volleyball coach for the high school team. 

“My time at Southeast has contributed to my success outside and inside the classroom in so many ways,” Brenna said.  “I feel like the education program here is excellent because it is so intense and requires so much of your time that you really have to love what you are doing in order to complete it.  I feel like I am super prepared for the teaching world. 

“Outside the classroom I feel like being an athlete and contributing so much effort into time management and being a part of a team has prepared me for a number of situations; like being able to get along with a group of people and communicating for success in a program.”

Brenna says she loved playing in home volleyball games and attending Southeast baseball games.  She also enjoys being down by the river and having barbeques and bonfires in Cape Girardeau.

In her free time, Brenna enjoys playing volleyball, drawing, painting, playing piano and being active.  She also enjoys traveling and would like to visit New Zealand in the near future.

“I hear it is beautiful over there, and I could visit my brother who is currently working towards his doctorate at a college in New Zealand.”

“My advice to future Southeast students would be to get involved, attend athletic events and have fun.  Meeting new people, making friends and setting achievable goals for yourself will get you though tough times,” Brenna said.