TJC Education Club helps students interested in education find resources, opportunities

The Education Club is a new addition to campus life, officially formed in the fall 2023 semester with the goal of helping students who are potentially interested in a career in education by fostering community and providing valuable connections. 

“One of our big goals is trying to reach other schools in the community,” club Parliamentarian Timon Ovard said. “We want to offer students on TJC’s campus the opportunity to learn to get into education, and then to also have that hands-on experience being involved in schools in the community.”

The club offers many ways for students to get involved and connect with like-minded peers who  share their interest in education, as well as outside advice and insight from seasoned educators. At their monthly meetings, the Education Club often hosts guest speakers who include teachers and coaches to speak about their experiences as educators, and offer advice and tools to those looking to go into education. 

“We’ve had teachers talking about language barriers, and assisting us on maybe if we don’t [speak] Spanish or another language that the students do,” Ovard said. “[We learn] ways that we can learn to adapt to them to be able to help them be more successful.” 

The education club is not exclusively for education majors. Club President Loraly Michalewicz said the club is a great way to make friends, and encourages all students in other majors who are interested in education to join.

“One of the reasons I joined was for the main source of friendships, because if you’re in a class, not everyone comes to class, in a way, to make friends,” Michalewicz said. “Some people just go and sit there and then leave. So it’s a good way to make friends and get into the community and have more things to do within the school community.”

As one of the newer clubs on campus, the impact of the Education Club has yet to be seen on a wide scale, but its members have a positive outlook for the future.

“I’m involved in a lot of other organizations, but they’ve been around for a while,” Ovard said. “So this time, like, as a founding member, we get to help build and create and we get to lay the foundation of what it will look like in the future.”

The Education Club meets every second Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. in Potter Hall, Room P003. Students can find more information about the club on TJC’s Orgsync page at https://orgsync.tjc.edu/organization/education.