From Second-Grade Teacher to University President: Finding Joy in Education
This is the greatest work in the world.
That was the thought running through my head when I started student teaching as a college senior. I was not going to school to become a teacher. I was pre-med, on my way to becoming a doctor or scientist.
Still, would it get any better than this?

Susanne Thompson, then Hobbis, in her first year as a classroom teacher.
I give a lot of credit to my freshman roommate. She wasn’t studying to be a teacher, either, but she was earning her teaching certification as a backup plan. That sounded like a good idea to me. I wanted to be independent, and a teaching license would give me options while I pursued my goals.
I started taking education classes in addition to my required freshman classes, and before long, my education classes were my favorite.
Then, once I started student teaching, I was hooked. My clinical supervisor was a retired kindergarten teacher who had a profoundly positive impact to help me learn and grow. And being in the classroom with those precious students looking up at me — I felt such a sense of responsibility for the future of humanity. I felt like, as a teacher, I had the ability to give children a pathway to embrace the world. I had the ability to give children the skills and knowledge to be whoever they wanted to be, do whatever they wanted to do.
I took a job as a second-grade teacher right out of college, and I never looked back.

Keeping My Options Open
I taught second grade, fifth grade, and kindergarten, and I absolutely loved it. I could have stayed a classroom teacher my entire career with no regrets, but I decided to go back to school to earn my master’s in educational leadership. I ended up earning my principal and superintendent licenses, a master’s degree, and a doctorate in education. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to be in a formal leadership role, but I wanted to have the option.
I’m incredibly blessed, because I’ve always loved my job. But each time a new opportunity came up, I’d find myself thinking: Hey, that sounds like fun, and I can work with incredible people on an important mission.
I took a job with an educational-service group, working with about 14 school districts on curriculum and professional development. I’ve been an assistant principal, a director of curriculum and instruction, an assistant superintendent, and a superintendent.
I helped build a professional-development business to support teachers all over the world, and I moved to London to help lead a digital content team.
Then, in fall 2021, I got the opportunity to lead Moreland University. Again, I was happy in my job. No reason to leave. But I thought to myself, Hey, that sounds like fun. Teachers and schools need support, and I know I want to focus on that mission.

Finding Joy in Education
Every teacher has stories. Some big, some little, moments from the classroom they’ll never forget.
For me, it’s two brothers and their family who welcomed me into their lives. I had the boys back-to-back in kindergarten, and one week, when the younger brother missed two days in a row, his parents trusted me enough to tell me it was because all his clothes were dirty, and they didn’t have money to do laundry.
I immediately gathered up some laundry money and drove to the Salvation Army to get extra clothes for the boys, but I’ll never forget that day. It was a heartbreaking reminder of the tough situations so many of our students are facing.
There’s another student I ran into 15 years after I had him in my 5th-grade class. Now, I’ve always been a dramatic reader, and when I read with students, I go all in, with different voices and accents for each character.
This boy had become an auto mechanic after school, and he was working in his garage when we saw each other from a distance. He sprinted out to meet me, and he was so excited to tell me about his job, his wife, his two kids — and how he reads to them with voices and accents, “just like you did.”
Little moments like that give me such joy. Teachers can have a profound impact on their community, and that impact can carry on for years and generations. It’s a real gift, it’s an honor, and it’s a responsibility I take on willingly.

Education can get a bad rap. Long hours, low pay, and far too often a lack of respect. There are many moments I did not get it right, but I knew I had to learn and get better. This work is too important for me to give up and leave. And I can say from experience that education can be a wonderful, meaningful, joyful career.
I’ve worked with students, I’ve worked with adults, I’ve worked with parents and community members, and I’ve loved it all. That background is part of why I’m so thrilled to be president of Moreland University, because I get to help find and train more teachers for the classroom.
I get to help newer teachers grow their careers and accomplish their goals.
I get to help them find, just like I did, joy and deep meaning in what they do. We’re shaping future generations. And I still ask myself every day: How did I get so blessed to work in the field of education?
Moreland University helps teachers earn professional certifications in as little as 9 months. Learn more at Moreland.edu.