SEMO Kennett student getting ready for big trip

KENNETT, Mo. -- A student at the Kennett regional campus of Southeast Missouri State University is getting ready for an adventure in the spring.

Shirley Ellis is the first student at Kennett to do her student teaching abroad. She will travel to Iquique, a port city in northern Chile, on March 30.

The 1996 graduate of North Pemiscot High School has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Central Methodist University and was getting ready for a career as a school counselor. However, she changed direction.

"I had a son, Cadd Michael, and I'm always teaching him. I'm singing the ABC song and reading to him. Then it clicked that I needed to be a teacher, because I love teaching him everything. I just have a passion for kids. I have a passion to learn myself, and I would like to pass on that passion to children," said Ellis, who lives in Kennett.

Ellis' student teaching will be done in what is known as a High Stakes school.

"It's a private school and a much different environment than what I'm used to," she said.

The trip to Chile is the second half of her student teaching requirement. The first six weeks will be done in a local school district. Ellis does not yet know where she will be placed, but her first choice is Hayti, Missouri.

"I wanted to get experience in a different school district. I've already had field experiences in Kennett and Senath-Hornersville," she said.

A trip abroad does not magically happen, so Ellis already is planning. She is getting her passport and raising money for expenses. The round-trip ticket is about $1,500.

"I'm trying to get sponsors. I'm going to have a yard sale in town soon. I have a lot of family support to help me as well," she said.

Something else she is looking forward to is a meeting that will be held soon via satellite with the family she will stay with in Chile.

Her family will watch Cadd while she is away.

"He's going to be in good hands. I've told him, but I don't think he understands just yet. But I will be able to Skype [with] him," she said.

Ellis knows she is fortunate to have this kind of opportunity.

"I am going abroad for the experience," she said. "The one thing I want to gain most is the experience of relating to people outside the United States. I know I'm going to learn. I'm going to be able to bring everything that I have learned in Chile and apply it to my future teaching career."

Ellis will return from Chile two days before her May graduation from Southeast.

Pertinent address:

Kennett, Mo.