“Someone is sitting in the shade today
because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
– Warren Buffett
ABOUT MRS. SLUDER
Educational and Professional Background:
In 2011, I graduated from Franklin College with a BA in English, Secondary Education, and Creative Writing. Some of my greatest accomplishments at Franklin include graduating Magna Cum Laude with a 3.8 GPA, earning the Excellence in Secondary Education award and the Outstanding Future Educator award, and winning a contest for best poetry in FC’s school literary magazine, The Apogee.
In my time at Franklin, I had the opportunity to student teach in three different middle schools and three different high schools, where I gathered dozens of wonderful strategies from talented teachers around the Indianapolis area. I had pictured myself teaching high school, but I realized in my first middle school placement that I belonged there. When I tell people that, I get some wild looks; however, I really do love the middle school age: old enough for me to hold higher expectations, but young enough for them to still laugh at my lame jokes.
While I did attend college outside of Terre Haute, I am a product of the Vigo County School Corporation: Ouabache Elementary, Chauncey Rose Middle School, and Terre Haute North High School. I am proud of my education and proud to now be an educator.
I began at WW in August of 2011, at which time I taught 7th grade for two years. Then, I transitioned to 8th grade and have been here since. I enjoy helping my students prepare for high school and gather the skills needed to become more productive, organized, and thoughtful young adults.
Personal Information:
In my spare time, I enjoy:
- reading, writing, and listening to audio books
- lounging with my cats, Mr. Fitz and Mr. Tulip
- exercising
- I instruct dance fitness, I run and strength train regularly, and I’m always down to try a new workout. If it’s active, I’m into it!
- traveling
- My husband and I would like to make it to all the states eventually, focusing on small river towns or any place that offers great history and architecture.
- being outdoors
- and doing absolutely anything, including nothing, with my husband, Josh–who happens to be a 7th grade English teacher here at Woodrow Wilson.
Accomplishments:
2024 turned out to be a big year for me; in January, I found out that I was a recipient of the highly coveted Eli Lilly and Co. grant, known as the Teacher Creativity Fellowship. This fellowship is awarded to approximately one hundred Indiana teachers per year. With this $15,000 grant, intended to provide rest and renewal while also reigniting passion for teaching, I was able to travel across the majority of the Eastern United States, visiting locations steeped in literary history, specifically related to Gothic literature (my personal favorite genre). My husband and I were gone for a month in our camper van, exploring the outdoors, luxuriating in historic hotels, and learning about some of our favorite authors and stories in the locations they lived and were written. It was an eye-opening, life-changing opportunity that we are grateful to have experienced; it also made us appreciate home, which was a pleasantly unexpected surprise.
Then, in August of 2024, I was recognized as one of the year’s 12 Under 40 recipients, an award given by the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and the Tribune Star, which acknowledges young professionals for their contributions to the community. It was humbling, to say the least, and I feel honored to have been chosen.
