GSU Connections: Sharmetta Wilson

Heading back to college at age 50 would be daunting for most, but for Sharmetta Wilson, enrolling at Governors State University was the step she needed to take to realize her lifelong dream to become a teacher. The skills she learned in Governors State’s former Alternative Certification program put her on track to the most satisfying part of her professional journey.

“I had always wanted to be a teacher,” said Wilson, now a special education teacher at Chicago Heights Middle School. She previously earned engineering degrees and worked as a telecommunications expert for more than 20 years, before being displaced in 2004.

Though she worked for giants like Illinois Bell, Chicago’s Fairmont Hotel. and State Farm in Bloomington, Illinois, Wilson never lost sight of her goal and made time to tutor children. In 2000, she joined Sprint PCS and managed a team of customer service representatives until she was one of 750 employees laid off.

Unaccustomed to being idle, Wilson took a year-long assignment as a substitute teacher for Chicago Public Schools before deciding to return to the classroom as a student. Her daily interactions as a substitute woke up latent dreams of teaching.

Wilson heard about the grant-funded Alternative Certification program in the College of Education. Three years after earning her K-9 teacher’s certificate at Governors State, she joined Washington-McKinley School in Chicago Heights. She later moved to the brand-new Chicago Heights Middle School. 

Practical Lessons Still Apply

Wilson said courses at Governors State provided a solid foundation for teaching. It was in a psychology class that she gained an appreciation for how people vary in their ability to learn. “Understanding how the brain works is the key to understanding my students, whether they have autism or an emotional disorder,” she said. “If you understand a child, you can reach them. I draw on aspects of that course to this day.”

Faculty Connections

Program leadership provided valuable advice that Wilson still thinks about in her day-to-day experience. Karen Peterson and Vickie Person, though no longer with the university, served as directors to Wilson’s cohort and made a lasting impression.

“They really wanted to instill in us that character you needed to have and to display to be an effective teacher, Wilson recalled. “And they stressed being effective, something I’m always reflecting on to this day. Every day when I leave the classroom, I think, ‘What could I have done better? Or said differently? Is there something I could have ignored?’ Because you can’t let one or two children take your focus off what you have to do.”

Treated Like Professionals

Wilson’s cohort included a lot of other adults who were changing careers. The way GSU prepared them for life in the classroom was unique, she said.

 “Our instructors treated us like we were already teachers,” Wilson said. “They were empathetic to our situation, but they were still very demanding. You couldn’t be late, because teachers can’t be late. You had to be prepared. They expected you to meet your deadlines.

She recalled a time when a family member had a family emergency that she learned about during class. “Vickie Person told me, ‘There may be times when you have to make hard decisions.’ But she also was empathetic. Because I’d been there on time every day, she let me go.”

On to the Classroom

Wilson has, for the past ten years, been teaching in South Suburban schools, from Harvey to Riverdale to Chicago Heights. In 2013, she returned to Governors State for her endorsement as a Learning Behavior Specialist. But, she still thinks wistfully about advice she got from Professor Lisa Chang. “She encouraged me to get my master’s in math, but I was ready to go to work,” Wilson said. “It’s on my bucket list.”