JTC 25: The Teacher She Never Had

Ask Caitlin Parker to name a grade schoolteacher who changed her life, and she may pause longer than expected.

It’s not a bitter complaint. For her, it became a call to action.

“I had good teachers, but none that made me feel like they really saw me,” said the University of Mississippi math education major. “I want to be that teacher that no one forgets.” 

With a job already secured in Quitman County School District, the Yalobusha County native heads to her classroom this fall determined to teach more than equations. She wants to build trust, spark confidence and help all students feel empowered.

“I don't know what my students are going home to, but it's my job to make sure that when they're in my classroom, they get a supportive vibe,” Parker said.

“The main reason I got into education is to shape students to understand that they can do anything they want to in this world. I want to be the reason students feel seen and capable.”

Parker grew up in the close-knit community of Oakland. Her mother, who raised four kids, always kept “education” on the family schedule.

“I remember I came home with a B and she was like, ‘You’ve got to step it up somewhere because you’ve got to have all A’s,’” Parker said. “It was a lot of pressure, but when I look back on moments like that, I realize she just wanted me to be successful and go to college.”

Her mother’s mission was a success. When Parker graduates this week, she will become the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

It’s an exciting milestone preceded by moments of doubt and readjusting her plan. Like many first-generation students, the Ole Miss student encountered a college learning curve as she navigated financial aid, campus dining meal plans and weighted grade-point average systems.

“I’m not speaking for all first-generation students, but we don’t know what to actually do sometimes,” Parker said. “Then, we just get discouraged or procrastinate.”

Parker connected with assistive resources on campus and continued to flourish as a student. Drawn by the job opportunities, lucrative salaries and opportunities to design and create, she enrolled as a computer science major.

She already had college credits toward the field and excelled in her courses, but was she chasing a version of success that was not hers?

“It just wasn’t my passion,” she said. “Everything kept pulling me towards my interest in teaching math and motivating kids.”

Looking back, her career path seems more obvious as Parker recalled stories of leading her first classroom back in first grade. Her “students” – which were actually her teddy bears — received self-made math lessons and were never immune to her code of conduct.

It made total sense when she switched to the School of Education, opening a new world of opportunities beyond the classroom. Parker worked as a resident assistant, presented at professional math education conferences and joined Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society.

In middle school, she started participating in the university’s pre-college programs, including StarTalk, an intensive summer language program for high school students.

Headed to her first post-college job, she has also landed a teaching fellowship with Reclaimed Project, a faith-based initiative that connects teachers with students in under-resourced communities.

“She’s not just preparing to teach math; she’s preparing to change lives,” said Joel Amidon, a math education professor who mentored Parker.

“She’s enthusiastic, coachable and always pushing herself to get better. She already thinks like the kind of teacher we want in classrooms – someone who reflects, adapts and leads with purpose.”

Amidon served as Parker’s methods instructor and student teaching supervisor. He said what stood out most was her ability to take feedback and apply it in real time, sometimes doing so mid-lesson. That’s part of what makes her so exceptional, he said.

“Would I want her teaching my kids? Absolutely,” Amidon said. “She’s ready to rock at all times. I’d ask, ‘Do you want to present at a conference with me?’ and she wouldn’t flinch before saying yes.”

Parker wasn’t just focused on her grades. In a senior clinical instruction project designed to help future educators connect with students, Parker took on two students instead of one.  

Not wanting to leave the other student without support, she invested double the time in building relationships and tracking their academic growth.

“That’s Caitlin,” Amidon said. “She sees people, puts in the effort and she’ll be an asset to any school lucky enough to have her.”

This fall, Parker will begin her teaching career in Quitman County, a district where she says her presence matters. Students there often come from families with limited resources, but they’re full of potential and she wants to add to the voices making sure they know that.

It may not be a tough sell when Parker tells her students they can do anything. She used the graphic design skills she gained through computer science lessons to create graphics and all the decorations for her new classroom. She also sells worksheets and teacher resources she designed on Etsy.

Despite student teaching, she even started a new Ole Miss radio show in her final semester.

The feelings of acceptance and support she experienced while Ole Miss was “home” helped her make it to the finish line and she encourages all first-generation students to embrace uncertainty and believe in their success.

“Do not feel like you are not accepted or lost,” Parker said. “There is someone out here that will help you, you just have to be open to finding that person.

“Sometimes we have this fear built up inside of us, but overcoming that fear is the greatest feeling. If you’re not struggling at some point, you’re not learning.”

Top: Caitlin Parker, a first-generation graduate, begins her teaching career this fall with a mission to empower and uplift her students in Quitman County. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

See more photos from Caitlin Parker's Journey to Commencement