Scroggie had always wanted to be an educator, but a number of life challenges got in the way of her career goals. It was after her own children were born that she was inspired to make a career change.
“My first child was born 8 weeks premature. My husband and I faced some health scares with my son, which forced me to reconsider the high stress work I was doing in the automotive industry,” she said. “I made the decision to be at home with my children as they grew and eventually started school.”
Scroggie realized that her child may have additional challenges at school, which inspired her for look for a way to combine her dream of being an educator with supporting the development of young children.
“Those formative years are so key to getting kids ready for their first day of class,” she said.
The Early Childhood Care & Education certificate at NIC was a perfect fit with the flexible, part-time schedule making it easy to balance school and home life.
Scroggie was nervous to go back to school, but quickly realized how supportive the environment was at NIC. “The stress and nervousness that I had was a waste. Everyone at NIC is very encouraging and they are as determined for me to finish this program as I am,” she said.
The small class size of the Early Childhood Care & Education certificate program allowed Scroggie to connect with fellow students and she has found that to be a major factor in her success.
“Balancing life with working full time, being a mother of two children, being a wife and going to school part time and completing homework had some challenges through the course. But the relationships that I have developed with the other women in the course have given me so much inspiration and encouragement. We have kept each other going for the two year program.”
Through her coursework at NIC, Scroggie has discovered how many children need her help.
“The Early Childhood Care & Education certificate program really brought to light for me the amount of children that need someone to be their voice. We need people to love and nurture our future, which is these children,” said Scroggie.
Scroggie has plans to work in her field for a short time and then she will return to school to continue on with her education.
“The Early Childhood Care & Education certificate program is a stepping stone for me to go on to so many more courses and avenues to take with my education. I am planning to continue on to my diploma for working with children with special needs and maybe even take the Educational Assistant program so that then I would be able to work with more children in the school district,” Scroggie explains.
NIC’s next part-time offering for the Early Childhood Care & Education certificate begins March 1.
Applications are open now.
