Sierrah Wiszneski

After graduating from Souderton Area High School in 2020, Sierrah Wiszneski settled on attending Montgomery County Community College (MCCC). Being from the local area, Sierrah was familiar with GMercyU.

“I have always heard that GMercyU had a good reputation. It is also a partner school with MCCC, and all of the classes I took transferred right over,” said Sierrah. “I felt as if GMercyU was a perfect fit for me and so far, I am happy to say that it most definitely is.”

Why GMercyU?

“What made me want to attend GMercyU was how small, beautiful, and close to home it is for me, so I can commute every day. Another selling point of GMercyU was how kind, caring, and personal each and every person is that works here at GMercyU,” said Sierrah.

She recalled the first day she visited GMercyU for Orientation and being struck by everyone’s kindness.

I also loved how the class sizes are smaller. It makes the classes more meaningful. You get to know your teachers and classmates more when the classes are smaller, you are more engaged and interactive within class, and most of all, there is more opportunity to enhance your learning.

Transferring to GMercyU

For Sierrah, it was easy. Being a student at MCCC allowed Sierrah to easily transfer her credits to GMercyU, ensuring a smooth transition.

“The transfer process is extremely quick and easy! All I had to do was apply online, where I filled out a little bit of information, and not much longer after I submitted the application, I got a package in the mail saying that I was accepted,” said Sierrah, who also sent her MCCC transcripts to GMercyU.

After receiving her acceptance package, Sierrah was paired with an advisor who helped her choose her career path and set up her first semester of classes.

Why Education?

At MCCC, Sierrah earned her associate degree in Education in the Early Years, birth through 4th grade. She’s currently pursuing a dual major in Early Education PreK-4 and Special Education PreK-12.

“I chose to pursue a career in Early Education PreK-4 and Special Education PreK-12 because I strongly believe that education is a key tool that can help provide children with the necessary information and life skills that best fit each of their unique needs, and to encourage creativity, and teach skills that are necessary to live successful lives,” said Sierrah. “I want to become a teacher because I love helping children learn and grow each day and develop new skills and knowledge. I love being in a learning environment. To me, teaching is an extremely rewarding job that will allow me to make a difference in a child’s life and education. I hope that for every child I get to teach, I can make their learning and education experience meaningful.”

Experience in Education Program

"The selling point for the Education program was the Teacher Apprentice Program (TAP). I absolutely loved how GMercyU gives Education students the opportunity to get out in the field every Wednesday for every semester, as soon as your first semester! I think it is such a great opportunity and really helps students to see so many different schools, settings, classrooms, teaching styles, etc.,” said Sierrah.

She’s loved her courses and how willing faculty members are to support students and allow them opportunities to collaborate with one another.

Each and every professor I’ve had at GMercyU has been so kind, caring, personal, and passionate. Each and every one made the classes fun, engaging, interactive, and meaningful. I would like to give a huge thank you to each and every one of my professors for making my time here at GMercyU extremely meaningful, for helping me to learn and grow, and, most importantly, for helping me to grow as an aspiring teacher.

Specifically, Sierrah has had a wonderful experience in Dr. Deb Schadler’s classes.

“Dr. Schadler is such a strong, amazing, passionate, and remarkable woman and I am grateful to have had her supporting me and helping guide me throughout my time at GMercyU,” said Sierrah.

Of all her courses, Sierrah has enjoyed EDU 414 Classroom Management and EDU 4000 Capstone Seminar the best, which helped prepare her for her student-teaching experience.

Student-Teaching Experience

Sierrah started student-teaching in January 2024 and, as a dual major, has the opportunity to choose two different paths.

Her first eight weeks of student-teaching are at West Broad Street Elementary School, where she is in a Learning Support classroom for grades first through third. Her last eight weeks will be at Oak Ridge Elementary School where she will student teach in a fourth-grade classroom.

“I am currently going into my sixth week of student-teaching, and it is going absolutely wonderful. What an amazing opportunity and experience to have,” said Sierrah.

In addition to student-teaching experience, Sierrah has had numerous field experiences in the Teacher Apprentice Program (TAP). Her experiences were mainly in the Souderton Area School District and North Penn School District.

“By the time I graduate from GMercyU, I will have had field experience working with children all the way from grade Pre-K through fourth grade, where I worked with students of both special and general education,” shared Sierrah.

During her pre-student-teaching experience, Sierrah had the amazing opportunity of getting hired to teach Pre-K during the regular school year and extended school year.

One of my biggest takeaways from these experiences is I learned that college is a lot of hard work and many sacrifices. However, through it all, you learn to adapt and grow and figure it all out as you progress. It has been hard, but also a great experience, one that I will surely never forget through all of the friendships and memories that I made. It has opened up many doors for me in the workforce. It has given me numerous opportunities for me to grow as a person and an aspiring teacher.

Involvement on Campus

Throughout her time on campus, Sierrah has taken part in the TAP program, gaining fieldwork experience in classroom settings since she began the education program. She also had the opportunity to assist in hosting the 2023 Autism Conference.

“That was one of the most amazing opportunities and such an amazing event where I was able to meet new people and learn new things. I am honored to have been part of such an amazing event like the Autism Conference,” shared Sierrah. “I also love to support our clubs, one of them being Best Buddies.”

Post-Graduation Plans

After graduating from GMercyU in May 2024, Sierrah hopes to find a teaching job within the Souderton Area School District, where she once attended school.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of having my very own classroom! I hope that I can live up to that dream very soon,” said Sierrah. “As for the grade, I love and would be happy to have the opportunity to teach any grade. However, I have a strong liking for second grade. I also love teaching Learning Support.”

Once she completes a year or two of teaching, Sierrah plans to return to school to obtain her master’s degree.