UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety recognized the accomplishments of Nicole Adam ’24 at the WCE/CSB commencement ceremony on May 11.
"Today, we recognize students like Nicole Adam, who is earning a bachelor's degree in middle grades education with a minor in Spanish,” he said. “Nicole transferred to the UNCW from UNC-Chapel Hill after realizing that her heart was set on becoming an educator instead of pursuing a career in medicine. She enjoys being in the classroom and getting to know her students, while also helping them to realize their full potential. Nicole is a well-rounded individual who also excels on the golf course as a member of the UNCW Golf team. She is now focused on pursuing a career teaching math or science at the middle school level."
WCE Professor Shelby Morge nominated Nicole for the honor.
“The WCE Middle Grades program shined this semester with so many amazing teachers. Their strong work and dedication to the profession throughout the program proves that they will each continue to make a positive difference in young adolescent lives as they enter their own classrooms,” Dr. Morge said. “As an example, Nicole Adam requested to take three methods courses instead of the required two so that she could learn about appropriate instructional practices in a third content area. Nicole stayed on top of her course obligations, including field experiences, while taking additional opportunities to spend time in the classroom by subbing in local schools. Nicole is constantly seeking opportunities to teach and learn.”
Nicole is originally from Mansfield, Ohio. She moved to Pinehurst, NC with her family when she was 13 and attended UNC Chapel Hill before transferring to UNCW after her sophomore year to enroll in Watson’s Middle Grades Education program and play on UNCW’s golf team.
“I chose to become a teacher because I love working with kids, and I wanted to be able to share my love of science with them,” she said. “I chose to take three methods courses because I also really wanted to teach middle school math, and instead of just taking the praxis to be certified I wanted to have some teaching methods for math under my feet, so I would feel more comfortable in a classroom. This will help me in my teaching career because now I am certified and feel prepared to teach science, math, and social studies.”
Over her time at UNCW, Nicole completed an internship through the Spanish Department working with English language learners at Career Readiness Academy at Mosley and Noble Middle school, helping students with math by teaching them in their native language. This spring, she completed her WCE internship, teaching eighth grade science at Roland Grise Middle School with partnership teacher Kate Supak. During her final internship, she continued to play on the golf team and is proud that she competed in every tournament, although at times it wasn’t easy to manage to it all.
“One funny story: We had a tournament in Arizona in February, and we took the red eye home on Monday night,” she said. “I went straight to school from the plane and taught Tuesday.”
Nicole has accepted a position teaching math and science at Cove Creek, a Pre-K through eighth-grade school in Boone, North Carolina. Scott Carter, a UNCW graduate recently named Watauga County Schools’ Principal of the Year, is principal at Cove Creek.
“Scott was one of my first interns when I came to UNCW,” Dr. Morge said. “It is a small world, but I love to see it come full circle. Nicole will love it there. We will miss having her as a local teacher.”
Nicole said she’s excited to begin her career as a teacher.
“I am most looking forward to all of the students I will have the opportunity to get to know and teach,” she said. “I am especially looking forward to all of the cool activities and experiments that I will be doing in my classroom.”
This article has the following tags: Students & Alumni Watson College of Education Accomplishments