With an online M.Ed. + endorsement program, Brandie was able to earn the credential she needed along with a master’s degree. What she didn’t realize was just how impactful the program would be on her teaching and life.

I was looking for a program for the endorsement I needed, and I found the wonderful program at Northwestern that allowed me to also get my master’s with only one more year of school. It felt like a no-brainer. After I started the classes, I knew I made a very good choice. The program was very supportive for online learning and non-traditional students.

The instructors are great at helping you lay out a timeline to show you the amount of time that you should carve out for the classes. My family was very supportive, and it helped to know, ok I’m going to need 9 hours this week to dedicate to my class.

When I started my classes at Northwestern, I was new to the area I was teaching. While I was earning my endorsement, I was able to improve the techniques I was using, and the strategies I could incorporate into my teaching daily. In my master’s, I saw so much more growth. I was able to use those things immediately in my class and meet the needs of my students.

For each class, a specific assignment talks about faith. In the first class I took, the question was “how can faith make you a better educator?” At first, I thought, here’s the token Christian question, but those became my favorite assignments! I didn’t realize when I joined Northwestern how important that [faith] would be to me.

I love working with children, and I love the opportunity that Northwestern has given me by offering the online endorsement because if it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have been able to get the position I’m working in and working with the children that need me.