Dr. Jennifer Smolka is currently a Student Mentor for Secondary Mathematics at Western Governors University. Smolka has been with WGU for five years and as the mother of four sons living in Waxahachie, TX, she enjoys a job that allows her to work from home and to be active with the local elementary school as well as to serve on the Waxahachie Education Foundation. “I became a mentor at WGU as an opportunity to combine my loves of math education and distance learning,” says Jennifer. “When I talk to my new students about my background, they’re quick to say ‘wow, this is a perfect place for you to be’. I am a teacher. I have experience in K-9 math education. I have degrees that emphasize technology and learning, and my doctoral dissertation focused on distance learning. So you combine those things and then you hear about this new university that’s teaching teachers in a completely different way. It’s exciting and you want to be a part of it.”
“I find myself talking to prospective students all the time,” says Jennifer. “In fact just last weekend, I talked to a good friend of mine who I’ve known for 20 years who has a background in social studies. He said “I think I want to be a teacher, what do I need to do?” And so I was able to share with him that the benefits of going to WGU include this idea of he can still be the stay home dad. He doesn’t have to set aside other commitments. WGU fits into his schedule to do WGU and do your learning around the other commitments in your life.” “Usually students of mine who excel have multiple kids and they’re trying to turn their lives around,” Jennifer says. “I have students who are working on master’s degrees who are over 70. We have students who are doing it all ages from all backgrounds, and they’re being successful. And part of that success is WGU’s one-on-one mentoring that provides personalized advocacy.”
“We really build relationships, oh my gosh! I’ve been in a lot of educational institutions over the years, and one of the things about the relationship with the mentor is that it’s more than just school. It’s more than just the phone call about what assessments you’ve done. You really get to know the student. It’s not 30 students trying to get everything done. We’re able to work one-on-one to figure out what your unique story is, figure out how to get you where you want to be, and make that journey unique for you.”
In February, Smolka, along with the Texas Advisory Council as well as the Waxahachie Independent School District, hosted the first-ever Texas Teachers Summit. All of the Texas teacher candidates from WGU’s graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as alumni, were invited to gather in Waxahachie Texas just south of Dallas for networking and learning. The event represented a very unique partnership among districts across Texas and their HR directors.
Waxahachie ISD human resources executive director Rick Rodriguez credits Smolka for being the link to the students and for providing them with the information they need regarding special education accommodations, classroom management and guidelines regarding a less restrictive environment. “Dr. Smolka is the driving force behind the success of this summit. Her energy keeps us going,” he said.
