Elizabeth Pike wears many hats as a Saint Mary’s student. Perhaps more than most. By day, she is Ms. Pike to the fourth grade class at Cotter Schools, where she serves as a student teacher. By night, you might find her as a teammate on the women’s softball team or a resident assistant for her dorm. Or maybe she is serving as vice president of administrative affairs to the Student Senate or working as an admissions ambassador in the admissions office. If there is one piece of advice Pike took to heart when going to college, it was to get involved.
Despite her seemingly rigorous social calendar, Pike would not have it any other way. Being involved in many campus activities and roles has provided her with opportunities that have helped her grow as a leader, athlete, and student.
An elementary education major and public relations and digital media minor, she has spent the first half of her senior year student teaching, one of the final steps in earning her education degree. Pike has enjoyed every moment of student teaching and says it has probably been her favorite experience at Saint Mary’s so far. Well, that and going to the NCAA D3 World Series in 2025 for softball, of course.
In fact, the education program and softball team were two of the main reasons Pike chose to attend Saint Mary’s. Saint Mary’s has a direct admittance education program, which means Pike was able to begin her education courses right away as a freshman. She was also excited by the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the classroom early on.
“At Saint Mary’s, we have the opportunity to get into the classrooms in our sophomore year, which isn’t common at as many universities,” she said. “With this experience, I felt very ready for my student teaching experience my senior year.”
Pike might still be student teaching, but already she is excited to go back and visit her students even after her time in their class is done. She sees her students and cooperating teacher as family and feels she has developed greater skills as an educator through her experience at Cotter.
“My student teaching experience has been nothing but excitement and joy,” she said. “My cooperating teacher, Betsy Donahue, has taught me so much about classroom management, lesson planning, teamwork, and everything else included within the career of teaching. She is such an amazing mentor and teacher, and she has made this experience so incredible.”
Her student teaching experience has been a great opportunity to put into practice all that she has learned in the classroom at Saint Mary’s. Her coursework focused on how to teach curriculum, create lesson plans, and understand other critical teaching methods she would use in her own classroom one day.
“My classwork at Saint Mary’s has prepared me tremendously to make me feel comfortable in my student teaching experience,” she said. “Above all, Saint Mary’s has taught me the importance of every student in the classroom and being a leader for the children.”
When she graduates, Pike hopes to be a third- or fourth-grade teacher and continue putting into practice all she has learned from her coursework and field experiences. She feels ready to enter the professional world, but for now, she is enjoying the time she has left at Saint Mary’s — as busy as it may be. She attributes her success in the last four years to her coaches, coworkers, friends, and teammates.
“I couldn’t have gotten through these past four years without all of them,” she said, “and the rest of those in the Saint Mary’s community that helped shape me into the person I am today.”
