KELIANNE DEVLIN ~
Kelianne Devlin’s parents always said she was doomed to be a teacher.
Growing up, Devlin visited playgrounds and parks. Everywhere she went, she would collect groups of children to play with, creating her own little class even as young as 4 or 5 years old.
“I was quite the uninhibited child,” Devlin said. “I would regularly walk up to strangers and ask them to play hide and seek. Even my brother, who was much shyer, would ask me to get other kids to play with us.”
Both Devlin’s parents have been high school biology teachers since before she was born. Since she grew up in a house full of educators, Devlin was determined to not become one herself. All the way until she started high school, she kept her desire to prove her parents wrong.
That all changed when she started working as a counselor at Childsplay, a youth theater camp she had attended as a child.
“When I started working at Childsplay, I was like, ‘you know what?’” Devlin said. “‘I actually really like this. This is really fun.’ So when I came to college, I decided to be a teacher.”
While a school like Arizona State University in Phoenix would have been closer to home, Devlin was desperate for a little bit of wiggle room: A school just far enough to give her a fresh start, but just close enough to feel like home. That’s when she found herself at NAU.
Devlin is currently a Junior in the Elementary Education program who is double majoring in Psychology. For her “practicum” — in-classroom student teaching — Devlin assists in a 2nd grade classroom at Thomas Elementary.
“My second graders are so silly,” Devlin said. “The school is amazing. They really try to take care of their students which is really important.”
When she is back in Phoenix for summer and winter breaks, Devlin still works as a counselor at Childsplay. Every time she teaches a theater class, Devlin said, it solidifies in her that this is really her passion.
What drew her to working so much with children, Devlin said, was how easy it was for her to make connections with kids — she loves to be loved, and her students adore her.
“The worst they’re going to say to you is, ‘You’re being mean!!’” Devlin said. “They’re not creative enough yet to be like, ‘Your shirt is ugly.’ The worst I’ve got from my kids is because I wear the same dress every week, and last week a kid told me, ‘I like that dress, but maybe you should wear a different one tomorrow.’”
Devlin, who is paying for her education through scholarships and a small college fund from her grandparents, said she recognizes that her opportunities at NAU are a privilege. She said as a student it is often very difficult to find a job that can be balanced with schoolwork, so she and her friends often penny-pinch and shop for food at the dollar store.
However, she said she thinks education should be more accessible to all, regardless of economic status — especially to those with a passion for teaching.
“You simply cannot be a good teacher without a degree,” Devlin said. “More than just learning teacher skills, a full blown education helps you define your pedagogy and teaching philosophy so that when you get to the classroom, you have something to fall back on.”
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As her impressive extracurricular schedule clearly shows, Devlin is heavily involved. Her involvement doesn’t stop at clubs, socials and academics. She is also very politically outspoken, specifically regarding issues of LGBTQ+ rights and, unsurprisingly, debates regarding the continuity of the U.S. Department of Education.
On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that set the ball rolling in an attempt to dismantle and abolish the Department of Education. Devlin said it’s not just her future on the line, but the futures of every child in any school system in America that are at stake with this decision.
Devlin doesn’t keep her concerns on today’s politics a secret. Her time at NAU has given her the platform and the courage to stand up for what she believes in and those she loves. Devlin said that an attempt to keep politics out of the classroom in the modern political climate is futile and unreasonable.
“Teaching is inherently political,” Devlin said. “If you are a teacher who supports or even feels neutral about what is happening in the country right now, you do not care about your students. Our politicians are trying to keep us uneducated, and I’m going to fight against it.”
Devlin has come a long way from that 3-year-old collecting friends on the playground. Her decision to pursue a degree and career with a volatile future shaped the person she has become and will continue to impact her life when she enters the workforce.
Devlin said the most valuable part of her education so far has not been directly related to her classwork — outside classes, Devlin is also the president of NAU’s chapter of the Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC) and is the treasurer of the Honors College Social Club. She also occasionally attends Spanish Club, the Sexual Health club, and Green Jacks (NAU’s environmental sustainability club).
Needless to say, Devlin has a lot to balance.
It’s a combination of her extracurricular involvement and her classroom practicum that has shown Devlin how to say no, and taught her how to excel in any professional setting — things she said are vital to being successful as a teacher.
Beyond the academic effects that going to NAU has had on Devlin’s development, she said her social life is the part of college she is most grateful for.
“I feel like I can finally be myself around the friends I’ve made up here,” Devlin said. “High school social is so different from college social. The friendships are so much more open, honest and supportive.”
Elementary Education Major, Junior at NAU
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