Student Profiles

Fulling A Dream Of Teaching
When RaJeanna Foxx came to Western four years ago, she admits she entered Woodring College of Education a little unsure of herself and her abilities, and with a cloudy set of goals.

Now, after years of guidance and support from Woodring’s faculty and staff, Foxx is not only poised to graduate and fulfill her dream of becoming a special education teacher in her hometown of Renton, but was given an honor never before bestowed on any Woodring student: She delivered her research on educating students with behavior problems to the Council for Exceptional Children’s international conference in Boston, Mass., in April.

“It was an incredible honor,” says Foxx. “And it really illustrates how far I’ve come as a student since I’ve been here.”

Woodring faculty member Bridget Kelley remembers Foxx’s first forays into Woodring classrooms as a freshman.

“RaJeanna was pretty quiet, and I think it’s safe to say that she struggled a bit when she first got here,” Kelley says. “But she has worked so hard and has blossomed into such a poised, articulate leader. Every student in the department knows who she is, because she has taken on a mentor role of her own with new students. And her hard work was rewarded by being recognized to present a paper at the Boston conference.”

Foxx says that the nurturing, supportive atmosphere that is endemic to Woodring was evident from her first day on campus.

“Right away, I met people like (Special Education lecturer) Bill Lay, who helped me understand what I needed to do from Day 1 to meet my goals and find my true passion for teaching,” she says. “My advisor, Kay Price, has pushed me to become the best teacher I could be. And Bridget (Kelley) helped me take the initiative and have the courage to send my paper in to be considered for the conference. Without these people, I don’t know where I’d be today.”

Foxx, who is also a WWU Promise Scholar, a Future Teacher of Color scholarship recipient, and the treasurer of the Black Student Union, says she approaches the end of her time at Western feeling incredibly grateful to the mentors who pushed her to succeed. And she’s eager to take what she has learned and apply it to the world beyond Western’s campus.

“But I’ll be back,” she says. “And hopefully there will be a way I can keep helping Western students the way my professors helped me.”

A Different Way of Looking At The World
Our neighbor to the north has always held a fascination for Elliott Smith (‘07).

“We share more than a border,” Smith says. “We get two-thirds of our energy from Canada. We buy 86 percent of their exports. More trade goes back and forth across our border than any border in history; we are the two most economically dependent countries on Earth.”

Smith, who received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Canadian-American Studies from Western in June 2007, is studying for a master’s degree in History at WWU. Not surprisingly, the focus of his research continues to be the intricate relationship between the two countries.

Smith speaks fluently about the two nations’ common origins and divergent paths. Last year, he won a refereed seat on the Canadian Consulate General’s Crossing Borders international conference. Later, he presented at a conference of the Association of Canadian Studies in the United States, the flagship professional association for Canadian scholars in the United States.

“When I first came to Western, I remember a professor telling me, ‘Find a professor you click with, and then study with them at every opportunity for a year or two,’” he says. “I had just taken a class with (Associate Professor of History) Cecelia Danysk and had really been interested in what she had to say, so I kept taking every class I could with her.”

Danysk proved to be just the mentor Smith needed.

“It has been very rewarding to work with Elliott,” she says, “to see him accomplish his goals and grow, intellectually, from strength to strength.”

Now, years after she first taught Smith, Danysk continues to play an influential role as Smith pursues his master’s thesis. He’ll continue studying history or political science to earn a doctorate, he says, and a career in politics or diplomacy may be in his future.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without the help and guidance of people like Cecilia Danysk and (Center for Canadian-American Studies Director) Don Alper,” Smith says. “They pushed me to develop my skills as a historian and as a writer. They’re just incredible educators.”