About the Elementary Education Program

Dylan Gusman

The Elementary Education program makes Dylan feel welcome. The supportive faculty care about you and how you are doing in the program and your life outside of school.

Dylan pairs the Elementary Education program with a special education minor. During free time, Dylan loves to explore the area around campus, shopping at the many local businesses there are to support within walking-distance.

Kate Rathfon

The Elementary Education program has been a hands-on and supportive experience for Kate. All the professors are involved and want to see students succeed as a teacher.

Kate pairs the Elementary Education program with an Outdoor Education and Leadership minor, allowing Kate to incorporate the outdoors into the classroom and foster a love for nature in students. On campus, Kate also serves as the vice president of the indoor soccer club and works as a lead mentor for Walkways to Westminster.

Bailey Johnson

Westminster makes the goal of being an elementary school teacher a reality for Bailey, providing valuable experiences and opportunities that will launch a career in teaching. Faculty members are accommodating and dedicated to seeing students succeed. Small class sizes allow collaboration with professors and peers alike, encouraging a safe, welcoming learning environment and forming tight-knit bonds. One of Bailey’s most exciting and rewarding experiences in the program so far has been a game and an interactive PowerPoint Bailey created to teach a 6th-grade class from Columbia Elementary.

Bailey pairs the Elementary Education program with a teaching speakers of other languages (TESOL) minor.

Bailey spends free time on campus attending late-night bonfires after class with friends, serving as the secretary of the campus National Alliance on Mental Illness club, working on-campus and off-campus jobs, attending and hosting a booth at May Term festivals, and relaxing in the lounge in Malouf Hall.

Sean Thorpe

Sean (’15) attended Westminster as an elementary education major with a minor in special education. Now, Sean is teaching 5th grade in the Salt Lake Valley, loving every moment of it and constantly looking for new ways to engage students and activate their creativity. Sean is also completing graduate studies in educational leadership and curriculum design, was named Quail Hollow Elementary’s 2019–20 Teacher of the Year, and has earned a gifted and talented teaching endorsement.