Q&A with Laura

What have been some of your favorite INSPIRE experiences? 

I really liked our trip to Tennessee last spring break. I also like the smaller events on the floor like Cookies and Canvas where everyone gets canvases and we get to paint whatever we want. There are cookies and everyone just hangs out and does stuff as a community. 

Have there been any seminars that have stood out to you so far? 

One of them was the Teacher of the Year last year, Kathy Nimmer. She was blind and she had a dog as a service animal. I thought she was very empowering because she showed us that no matter what obstacles you may face you can do anything you put your mind to. She was also an Olympic champion. She was really inspiring. 

Have you formed any lasting relationships? 

I definitely think that INSPIRE provides people with that connection and a community of people they can reach out to. In my courses, there is not a lot of time dedicated to community building activities so you do not really get to form intimate bonds with people in your class but when you are on your floor it is almost like you are home so you build stronger relationships with people on the floor than you do in the classroomSo, even though you meet a ton of other education majors in the Education building, the relationship you build with them will not be as strong as a relationship with someone on the INSPIRE floor because you spend a lot more time with them.

INSPIRE provides people with a community they can reach out to. I think it is a really good idea that we have a system going so that people can go to someone that they can trust, someone that is older than them and has probably experienced what they are going through.