Education, Health and Human Sciences

Christina Petrie

Secondary Education, Class of 2023

Hometown: Moscow, Idaho

Senior year is about making the best of your University of Idaho experience, even when that requires going beyond your comfort zone to embrace new and different opportunities.

Over the past year, I've done just that, joining dozens of peers in wrestling with issues of global concern at the West Coast Model European Union, and seeing the educational mission up close as a teacher's aide at a local charter school. As an ambassador for the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (EHHS), I shared my passion for teaching and showcased the great experiences at U of I with future Vandals. Ambassadorship helped me make deeper connections with the amazing faculty in EHHS, while planting the seed for future teaching careers.

My most exciting prospect is happening now. This fall, I am serving as a student teacher at Bonn International School in my childhood hometown in Germany, making me the first ever U of I student to student-teach fully abroad. Learning alongside multiple mentors, I am opening my mind more broadly to different cultures and approaches to education.

I am incredibly passionate about education, especially in my emphasis area of social studies, and plan to teach in grades 6-12, eventually moving into educational administration. Long-term, I envision earning my Ph.D. in international education to help improve public education globally. Now that I have been accepted into the EHHS's master’s program in curriculum and instruction, I will continue my journey as a Vandal. There's a sense of belonging to being a Vandal: EHHS is a tight-knit community and I've built relationships with my professors that might not be possible at a larger, more impersonal university.

Scholarships like the Harry A. Campbell Education Scholarship, the Vandal Academic Achievement Award, the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship, the Jenkins/Newman Education Scholarship, the Maureen Meehl Memorial Scholarship and the Leora Stillinger Memorial Scholarship have truly helped me be successful. This support is especially helpful during my semester abroad, allowing me to completely focus on student teaching.

Because of your generosity, I have the honor to student-teach abroad and graduate debt-free on my return.

I want to send a big "thank you!" to everyone who donates to the University of Idaho. College comes with social, emotional and academic stress, compounded for many by financial struggles. Because of your generosity, I have the honor to student-teach abroad and graduate debt-free on my return. I am forever grateful for all that the Vandal community has given me. It's why I am so excited to be, and always remain, a Vandal.