Katie Staffanson

junior, elementary education
Sidney, MT

By Cassie Winter, University Communications and Marketing Intern

What did you want to do when you grew up?

“I always said I didn't want to be a teacher because my older sisters were teachers. I thought I needed to be different. So way back when, I always said [I was going into] nursing. Then I started working at a preschool. One day we were making a crazy art project and there was blue paint and sparkles—this huge mess with all these little children. I was like, this is what I want to do. It’s crazy but it’s wonderful. I’m pretty excited to be a teacher, maybe here, maybe Kenya.”

Why Kenya

“I was on a ministry assignment at this school over the summer. Almost all the children there were orphans. I was able to teach them, sang songs and ran around and played with them”

What was the hardest part?

“The teachers at the school had a meeting and asked my ministry partner and I to watch the kids finish eating their porridge and to not let them leave. So we have all these kids in this room and they get done with their porridge and just went crazy. They wanted out so bad and all we know is that we were told to keep the kids inside the room. So they thought it was a hilarious game to try and escape. They tried to climb out the windows and kept pushing each other around. We did this for like twenty minutes, chasing little kids all over the place.”

“The kids were so fun. Sometimes they were frustrating but I love them so much.”