August 5, 2025

By Louis Huler

There are few experiences as unique as that of education majors at Drexel. A smaller major, students not only develop an extreme sense of camaraderie with classmates, but a collective sense of purpose for their future careers.

“I wish people knew that it's awesome.” Says Naomi Yoon, BS preK-4 elementary education ‘28. “People hear that you're an education major and they just don't see how broad it is, how much you have to learn and how much goes into being an educator.” For her, the biggest gift she’s gotten from her studies has been the relationships with other students as she studies to become a teacher. “We're such a small group, so we all know each other, it’s a really tight knit community. We're all very comfortable with each other because we've been in the same classes for the entire time of college.”

A sense of community is far from the only reason education is such a draw for those in the program. It’s more than that- it’s easy to see the sense of passion among the students, especially regarding the futures they hope to have in the field. Keegan Robertson, BS preK-4 elementary education ‘27, classmates with Naomi, feels particularly strongly about his drive to teach, pulling from his own past experiences.

“Both my parents were teachers. I grew up around it. I was developed by it. It’s the only thing that I ever thought I had a passion for,” Robertson explains. Though the educational roots run deep, the passion comes from not just a sense of belonging, but a recognition of the importance that teaching can have in children’s lives. “I had a lot of good teachers. I went to very good schools that were luckily all public and it just made me want to do it. I want to be the people that I had in my elementary and high school experience.”

Despite years left to go in their own educations, both Robertson and Yoon are well on their way in terms of field engagement. This is thanks to the School of Education’s Field Placement Office, which gives students the opportunity to engage in clinical experiences as they pursue their teaching certifications.

Keegan will be working at the Philadelphia School, a local private school he has already had some experience teaching at, assisting the kindergarten nurse. This job gives him the thing he wants, and hopes to one day include in his own teaching- true engagement. “I really care about the development of a child and that includes cognitively and physically. Working on how to build yourself into a human being is really cool instead of ‘you need to know 10 plus 10 right now.’”

Naomi is spending her summer working with the Kindergarten Bridge program, helping recent graduates of pre-school to prepare for their upcoming kindergarten year. “[Kindergarten] is more rigid, it's more planned, more structured. So we have to get them ready for that.” She explains. “They helped me with seeing education as the full picture, not just imagining yourself in a classroom, but the whole context.”

For both these undergrads, they want to emphasize most the personal nature of education. It’s not just systematic, it’s a real way to connect with and push the development of others. “There is so much more to education than to be in a classroom. And people need to know that.” Keegan says. Naomi agrees. “I've always found one-on-one work more fulfilling.” She says, on her favorite part.

Both Keegan and Naomi have endless possibilities for the future ahead of them, and despite different goals and connections with their educational education, are both on the path to success. The common denominator with both these students is the passion, not just for education, but for the people they work with, inside the classroom and out.