When Stephanie Heinrich graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College on Dec. 16, the 28-year-old Lawrenceville native had more than a degree in early childhood education her hand. She had a job.

In January, Heinrich joins the staff of the Trip Elementary School as a long-term sub. Located just minutes from her Grayson home, it’s a job that she hopes to parlay into a career. Her GGC mentors have no doubt she’ll succeed.

“Stephanie has a very strong work ethic, and she is very dedicated to her classroom work, so it didn’t surprise us that the principal at Grayson Elementary School, where she did her practicum, and her lead teacher, both recommended her for this opening at Trip Elementary,” said Dr. Pamela Allen, Heinrich’s GGC mentor. “Her passion for teaching will make her a top candidate when a permanent position comes along.”

Heinrich is one of 10 students in the inaugural graduating class for the GGC School of Education. Her fellow graduates include:  Hoschton resident Meagan Eads (English teacher certification), Lawrenceville resident Bradlee Miller (history teacher certification), Dacula resident Jonathan Mihetiu (history teacher certification) and early childhood education majors Katie Burrows (Loganville), Heather Kulp (Lawrenceville), Ann Marie Miller (Bethlehem), Nicole Olano (Lawrenceville), Emily Valentino (Dacula), and Erica Wagoner (Bethlehem).

Academically, Heinrich has excelled since transferring to GGC in the fall of 2009 – earning a 4.0 GPA almost every semester and garnering the coveted School of Education Outstanding Student Award in the fall of 2010. But it is the words of Dean Cathy Moore that most humble her.

“Dean Moore has always said ‘The day you stop being a learner is the day you should stop teaching’,” says Heinrich. “And that’s something that’s been reinforced during my time at GGC. It’s something I hope to always live up to.”

Heinrich has had ample opportunity to test that commitment while at GGC. As a part of her degree, Heinrich had several field practicums, where she was involved in teaching children from diverse cultural, linguistic and economic backgrounds.  Some of her students spoke English and came from families similar to her own. Many others did not.

“Before I started at GGC, I was just focusing on content, about how to teach it. I didn’t realize there were valuable social and cultural differences that the children bring to the classroom,” she says.  “At GGC, I learned to use those differences as a way to teach the children.  We had classes in cultural inclusion that showed us how to work with students from different backgrounds.”

As a part of her GGC degree, Heinrich received a state endorsement to teach children who do not speak English. She is thrilled to have this official endorsement now – other teachers she knows have had to go back to school to earn it – but when she first encountered the requirement in her course load, she was hesitant.

“I kept thinking ‘How can I translate when I don’t speak the child’s language?’” she says.  “But then I saw that with children, there really is just one language. Singing, dancing, shapes and colors are the same in every language. They absorb the language because they are involved, engaged. Now, they are my favorite group to teach.”

Well, second favorite.

Heinrich’s own children, Selah, 4, Coen 6, and Kylie, 8 are students at the same elementary school where she will be teaching.  None of them will be in her classroom, but the new arrangement has put a smile on this working mother’s face.

“I think they are as happy as I am,” says Heinrich. “And my husband, well, I think I should cut my degree in half and give him a piece. He’s earned it.”

As happy as she is with her new career, Heinrich still has room to nurture future dreams – for herself, and for GGC.

“I want to get into the classroom for a few years, so I can get the feel of what it’s like,” she says. “But, when GGC starts offering graduate programs, I want to come back.”