To put a name to the face of the girl who is almost always walking between Rounds and Ellen Reed, her name is Alyssa Delaporta. She’s a junior, majoring in Secondary English Education. With all of her extra-curricular activities, it’s hard to believe she ever has time for herself.
She’s an office assistant at Ellen Reed, which is the building on campus that is dedicated to the English department. What she normally does at work is tidy up the office, make copies for teachers, and help direct students and visitors who come into the office. She also helps organize the final exam schedule for all the teachers. When she’s not working, she spends her time being a part of honor societies. Delaporta is the President of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honors society and she is also an active member in the Education Honors Society, Kappa Del Pi.
Delaporta joined the cross-country team in the fall of this past year and she said it was the best decision she has made so far. She is also a part of MESA, which stands for Mentoring Enhances Student Achievement. What most people don’t know about her is that she can secretly sing and play guitar. She performs her own songs when she is by herself but never plays in front of people. “My step dad also made me a ukulele for Christmas and I’m currently learning how to play that,” said Delaporta.
Her passion for teaching started at a young age and since then, she has never looked back. “I knew since I was in preschool that I wanted to teach. In elementary school, I use to create practice worksheets and I would rent movies from the local library. My neighbors and friends would come over and we would all take turns teaching and playing class with each other. I used to create quizzes and tests off movies like the Magic School Bus and quiz my neighbors. I would even grade their papers! It was a lot of fun,” said Delaporta.
Although she knew at a young age she wanted to teach, as she got older, she had to decide what she wanted to teach. “Because I knew for years that I wanted to be a teacher, the questions was more of what kind. I’ve always been very passionate about music, but didn’t really feel like I could do much with that major. So, I then decided to pursue one of my other favorite passions and classes.
I loved Math and English in high school. Freshmen year, my major was Secondary Math Ed because I felt like it was more marketable and there's often more Math jobs opened than English. Then I got to Calculus 2 and decided to take an Intro to English Ed class. I loved it so much and knew it was exactly what I wanted to do, where I was most passionate. So I switched my major from Math to English!” said Delaporta.
Starting college can be really difficult but Delaporta only had good advice to give. “If I were to give advice to incoming freshmen I would say to get involved in anything and everything. I feel it’s important and makes the college experience much more enjoyable if you put yourself out there, being friendly and meeting people who share the same interests as you. Joining clubs and organizations that interest you are a great way to meet people on campus and end up with some life-long friendships,” said Delaporta, She shows that college can be the time of one’s life, if one gets involved and does his or her best.