Hometown: Dunnegan, Missouri
Current Resident City: Bolivar, Missouri
Occupation: Fourth Grade Teacher
All Degrees: AA in Teaching- Missouri State University-West Plains
B.S. Elementary Education
“Don’t settle. Embrace life. I found myself at Missouri State University-West Plains and couldn’t be more thankful.”
Heather Morrison-Sitton is halfway through her first year as a teacher, and every day she is living out her passion of helping others. A true educator to the core, her greatest professional accomplishments are when her fourth-grade students work hard to ace tough tests and understand the complicated concepts on which they have been working.
This is especially fulfilling for her, as she works in a low-income area with students who often have a rough home life. In many cases, her students have worries that go far beyond getting an education. “I get to be that positive influence and help those students through their struggles and be there for the accomplishments,” Morrison-Sitton said. “I see them growing, maturing and learning every day in my classroom, and when I see them smile after they have that successful moment, that final ‘a-ha’ moment where all worry fades, it means the world to me, just as much as it does them.”
Just like her students, Morrison-Sitton had her own experience with growing, maturing and learning in the classroom. As a student from a small town with a high school graduating class of only 23 students, a smaller college was appealing to her. The small-town feel of Missouri State-West Plains allowed her to build close and positive relationships with her instructors, other students, and all faculty and staff. These positive relationships, she said, really made her feel like she belonged. The biggest factor in her choice, however, was that she wanted the “typical college experience,” with basketball and volleyball games, dorms and residential life, and opportunities to participate in clubs and organizations.
“I tried, I failed, I learned, I grew, I triumphed.”
Morrison-Sitton credits Missouri State-West Plains with allowing her to gain the independence she strived for, while still giving her the guidance she needed to benefit her in the future. It showed her the impact a person can have on his or her community and the people within it. The Student Ambassador program specifically helped her become fully involved in the community and the campus.
“Being a part of the ambassador program really aided in my success. It was like automatically being accepted into this family of like-minded peers. We (the ambassadors) got to spend a lot of time together through Red Carpet Days, tours, office hours, community service and more,” she said. “Through these different experiences I feel I really learned a lot about life and myself.”
Through the many resources available to students, Morrison-Sitton said succeeding and reaching goals is a common occurrence. Through hard work in her classes and building positive, close relationships with instructors and classmates, and utilizing study groups and the tutoring center, she triumphed.
“How you embrace the college experience will help define you as a person. The decision should not be made lightly,” Morrison-Sitton said. “Join the club, lose your voice at the basketball game, stay up late watching movies in the community room, laugh until you cry at welcome week, make mistakes, learn and live in the moment because when you blink it’s gone.”