Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Rosette, M.Ed. '18
Ashley Rosette earned her M.Ed in Educational Technology from Loyola University Maryland in 2018. Today, Rosette is a Consultant and Learning Designer. She helps leaders and teachers improve their skills and knowledge to better support student learning and development. She credits the support and experience of Loyola’s faculty for her success in her graduate program and career. Learn how Rosette managed her work-life balance and the value she found in her degree through her responses below.
Q&A with Ashley Rosette
Why did you choose your program at Loyola?
I was witnessing firsthand a digital divide; my school had limited access to technology, and if tech was being used, it was at a very low and not engaging level. There was no true purpose or reason/strategy behind utilizing it in meaningful and impactful ways. I decided to join the Ed Tech program because I wanted to ensure that my students had access to engaging and rigorous lessons; ones that while leveraging technology could open new curiosities and enrichment not only for myself, but for my students as well.
How was your experience with work/life balance while pursuing your degree?
I was a full-time 5th & 6th grade math teacher in Baltimore City during my time in the program. One of my favorite parts about the program itself was that it was paced in a way that made the work bite sized and still allowed me to be able to focus on all my regular teaching duties without having to miss a beat or sacrifice time. One course at a time every couple of weeks made the work engaging and tangible.
What were some of your favorite aspects about pursuing a graduate degree at Loyola?
I learned a lot about myself as a student and as a teacher during my program. My favorite aspects were that the faculty and staff were always so incredibly knowledgeable, welcoming, and celebrated who you were as a learner. Jumping back into the student saddle can be difficult after a time away from school, and our professors never made us feel inadequate for having to relearn what it meant to be a student again. As previously mentioned, the timing of the program worked incredibly well for me as a full-time teacher. That was the number one selling point for me and helped me to realize that
I could in fact still pursue higher education while teaching full time, ensuring that I could still put my students and family first.
What do you think sets Loyola apart from other universities that offer a similar program?
The faculty, hands down! When I say they are our biggest cheerleaders, I mean it. We learned about andragogy (the art of teaching adult learners) and while we learned the technicalities and pedagogy behind that, we also learned from their modeling of it. Our courses weren't mundane, they had us thinking about real-life scenarios and work that we could immediately take back and try with our students. My students were always eager and excited to try something new and be part of my "schoolwork." I received so much positive feedback about the activities that I was planning due to what I was learning in school myself.
How has your degree and experience at Loyola set you up for success in your career?
I left the classroom in the Summer of 2020, during the height of COVID-19. I selfishly thoroughly enjoyed teaching remotely--my students thrived, were engaged, and still completed work. They banded together in a way that I had not previously seen in the brick-and-mortar classroom, and I fully attribute that to what I had learned in my graduate program. I knew that I wanted to do more and have a broader reach when teaching and modeling best practices around effective technology use in the classroom, and how we could get students and teachers to step out of their comfort zones. LINC found me at a time where I knew I wanted to do more. Now, thanks to my graduate degree, teaching background, and growing knowledge around effective tech tools, I get to help schools and districts around the U.S. put best practices into place that celebrate teacher risk-taking in their own teaching practices around pedagogy and technology.
Want to know more about the online Loyola Educational Technology program? Find more information on the program at https://loyola.edu/edtech and follow the Loyola Ed Tech program on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok - @LoyolaET