Gerba participates in NEA student conference

2016 Jul 13

Mikaela Gerba of Highland, Indiana, was one of two Trine University students who traveled to Washington, DC, for the National Education Association's Student Leadership Conference (NEA-SLC), held June 29-July 2.

Gerba, a senior, and sophomore Sam Miller of LaGrange, both social studies education majors, participated in the conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel.

This was the second time Gerba had attended the conference. She completed a fellowship for the NEA from January to June, during which she made weekly phone calls, organized events and recruited members, and presented findings from her fellowship to a board of peers at the conference.

"My organization had one of the best success rates of the fellowship, so it was really nice to hear positive comments from my peers about my hard work," she said. "It was a great way to share ideas that were successful and others that were not and discuss how these ideas can be tweaked to become successful."

Gerba has been a board member of the Student Education Association at Trine since her freshman year, and has served as its president since her sophomore year. She was elected vice president of the Indiana Student Education Association board in 2015 and will serve as president for the organization this next year. She credits faculty advisor Amy Alexander, Ed.D., with encouraging her to take leadership in the organization.

"Dr. Alexander is truly the reason I have become some involved with this organization at not only the local level, but at all levels," she said. "She has given me the courage and confidence to run for every position that I now hold; she was the first to believe in my abilities."

She said the NEA-SLC gave her the opportunity to continue her leadership training.

"This year I participated in leadership seminars and workshops where I was able to learn valuable information on how to find leaders, create a strong governing body, and how to motivate people to participate in events," she said.

Those who attended the conference also participated in one of 10 outreach programs designed to benefit the community. Gerba helped create Little Free Libraries for donated books.

Gerba, who plans to teach high school after graduating, said the conference also helped her develop skills for her future career.

"My participation in the conference allowed me to not only network and share ideas from people around the nation, but it allowed me to participate in professional development," she said. "I was able to learn different techniques of engaging my future students, as well as future members of my organization. It strengthened my ability to find leaders, which will not only be helpful in SEA, but also in my classroom."