Erin Sears of Willowbrook has had an eventful life, and is still pursuing greatness.
She grew up in Des Moines and attended Perkins Elementary, Callahan Middle, and Theodore Roosevelt High School. She attended college in Iowa City at the University of Iowa. Halfway through her education there, she took a year off and went to Oregon as a Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) volunteer.
“During that year, I ran a reading program in two elementary schools in Albany, Oregon. It was really fun and I enjoyed being in an elementary school environment. After graduating from Iowa, I moved to Juneau, Alaska to be a VISTA Volunteer for a second time,” said Sears
In Alaska, Sears helped adults get their GEDs, and she taught ESL and Citizenship classes.
“This work gave me a lot of empathy for people who want to change their lives for the better in the United States,” said Sears.
From her time in Alaska, Sears also experienced quite a few stories to tell, ones she likes to share with her students when the time is available. One was of a bear:
“I always think about my time in Alaska during the fall because the apartment I rented happened to be on a ‘bear path.’ I quickly found out that I could expect black bears to be hanging out in my yard in September and October before their hibernation period,” said Sears. “Sometimes, I would have to let people know I would be late because there was a bear in the yard! It was a reason for being late that no one could really argue with.”
She was encouraged to apply to the Graduate School of Education at the University of Alaska Southeast, so she did. This is where she graduated with her Master of Arts in Teaching in 2002. After that, she decided it was time to move to the city, so Sears moved to Portland, Oregon, and utilized her teacher’s education there.
“I lived in Portland for eleven years, first working at a school for homeless children in the city and then working as a second and third grade teacher in the English department of the French American International School. This experience opened up my whole world!” said Sears.
Sears said that she learned a lot through these experiences. She learned a lot about different cultures and parts of the world. She said that she learned how vast and large, yet close and small the world really is.
“As humans, we generally have the same wishes and dreams for our lives and we are much better when we work together as a community to make life as good as possible for everyone,” said Sears. She said that learning about, and with, French culture, she learned that it’s good to slow down and enjoy life more.
After a little over a decade in Oregon, Sears decided to move the 2,500 miles to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2013. She had friends there, and Portland had become quite expensive. She applied to Morris Jeff Community School where she taught second grade for two years.
“Teaching in New Orleans taught me a lot about resilience. I worked with a wonderful community that embraced me as family. People in New Orleans work hard and play hard, and living there was a lot of fun. The city has rich cultural traditions and people are very welcoming,” said Sears.
When the time came in 2015, Sears made the difficult decision to move back to Iowa. She said she needed to be closer to her family. When she came back, she got a job at Willowbrook Elementary, and she has loved teaching third graders ever since.
And that’s the story of her life! Between all of this, she was able to complete the side quest of becoming a National Geographic Certified Educator.
“I had to take several classes to become National Geographic certified,” said Sears. “I also was fortunate to be chosen as one of a dozen people to be on National Geographic’s Educator Advisory Committee and that was a really special experience. I got to travel to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC and I worked closely with their education team to develop an online community for educators.”
Ms. Sears loves her spot at Willowbrook Elementary, and loves the opportunities she is able to provide.
“I am energized and inspired by working with all students. I believe that kids deserve voice and choice in their education and I aim to create a safe place for students to try new things and really “go for it” in their learning,” said Sears. “I am so proud of the students I have worked with throughout my career. I keep in touch with many of my former students and it is really exciting to see what they’re doing with their lives as they grow up.”
As a former student of Ms. Sears, she truly is as smart, incredible, and talented as she sounds.
