When KatieMarie Ivins walks across the graduation stage this month, she will have a degree in biology, secondary education certification, and not one dime of debt. And she did it in three years.
It required a packed academic schedule (“It was a puzzle every semester,” she recalls), full-time work at a private preschool in her Pittsgrove, NJ, hometown, and evening/weekend hours at her family’s pizzeria.
She earned credits at an accelerated pace by maintaining a continuous course load and never taking a break. “In addition to full-time semesters, I consistently enrolled in winter and summer courses through Rowan College of South Jersey.”
“I sometimes even worked 13-hour days, seven days a week,” explains the 21-year-old commuter, not a hint of bragging in her voice. “I’ve always had a good work ethic and I love learning, so the academic load wasn’t hard.”
Dr. Marisa Rauscher disagrees. “She completed a full biology degree and the sequence of classes to earn certification in biology grades 7-12 in three years. This is unheard of.”
Ivins is grateful for the help she got along the way. Neumann faculty helped her build an aggressive course schedule, search for scholarships, and obtain a waiver from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which initially denied Ivins’ request to student-teach in New Jersey.
Three years ago, when she was a senior at Arthur P. Schalick High School, Neumann University wasn’t even on Ivins’ radar screen. She applied to Stockton, Montclair, Monmouth, and the University of Hartford.
A teacher at Schalick, Mrs. Fries, kept mentioning Neumann, however, and inspired Ivins to visit. “The campus tour with Dr. Bob and conversations with Dr. Rauscher sold me,” she remembers. Now, with two credentials, no student loans, and a teaching career ahead, she is thrilled with her decision.
“Neumann’s willingness to help students and the faculty’s care and compassion aligns with everything I am.”