Student spotlight: Danae Clemo
Be inspired by Danae Clemo’s unique story and discover more about the students in our community.
Q: What is the name of your hometown?
A: My hometown is Spokane, Washington. It is where I have lived the longest.
Q: How did you choose Eastern Washington University?
A: My journey to considering Eastern Washington University had a lot to do with my CSF College Prep Advisor (CPA) in high school—Julie-Ann Pearson. Going into my junior and senior years of high school, I didn’t know if college was the right move for me. I had many conversations with my CPA about where I wanted to end up in life and how to achieve those goals. Eventually we landed on: if I wanted to end up with my dream job at the time, I would have to go to college. Our conversations then became more about trying to figure out what college would be the best fit for me. I went with Eastern because, for me, it is the right size, it’s close to home, and it has a good program for the degree I wanted. I truly believe that choosing EWU was probably the best decision I’ve made for myself.
Q: What is your major (or intended major) if known?
A: I am an Elementary Education/ Literacy double major and am minoring in English as a Second Language.
Q: What is your dream job?
A: My dream job has changed since I first looked into colleges, and I have had a few major changes before landing on Elementary Education. My dream job now is to become an elementary school teacher to students in the 2nd to 4th grades in a Washington State public schools. I really want to be the best teacher I can be for my future students. In addition to that, at some point I want to become a literacy coach/ lead for a school or district. I also want to put my minor (and subsequent endorsement) into use by teaching English either overseas, or to people who have just immigrated to the US.
Q: Any clubs, activities, or involvements you are a part of outside of class?
A: I am part of two clubs at EWU, although I did have to take a step back from one of them to focus on my academics this term. I am the President of the EWU College Success Foundation Club, where I serve several CSF students and help build a welcoming community for them. I am also an active member of Eagle Ambassadors, where we visit high schools and present to juniors and seniors –answering questions about EWU and then hosting events for them once they attend EWU.
Q: What has been the most surprising thing for you so far about college?
A: The most surprising thing about college for me has been how laidback the professors are. In high school, I remember the teachers telling me that professors would be hard on me in college. What I’ve learned is that college professors do want you to do your work and do your best, but they do not hold your hand to get it done. They won’t remind you of deadlines. Instead, you must be disciplined to get it done on your own. It’s true that some professors can be firm, but with my experience, they are not as tense as a lot of high school teachers may make them seem. My professors have been some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I want to exhibit that same kind attitude that I have received from them in my future classrooms.
Q: What is a challenge you have encountered in college and how did you navigate it? (Or how are you navigating it?)
A: For me, especially in my freshman year at Eastern, my time management and study habits had been a struggle. I had such poor study skills because I had never established them in high school. Beyond reviewing notes, I had no clue what to do to even start studying once I got to college. Now, I have much better study habits; however, my new problem is that I want every one of my assignments to be perfect and that is just not realistic. The entire point of college is to help us learn how to navigate and grow within our future disciplines before we make our transition into the working world. This is something that I am currently getting myself to remember so I don’t add unnecessary stress onto what I am doing.
Q: What student supports / resources have you utilized that have been most helpful to you?
A: At Eastern, we have a great tutoring center called PLUS, a writing center, and a math lab that I have spent a ton of time utilizing over the years. The staff who work at these places are incredibly nice. Our library at Eastern also has a lot of cool resources and supports within it. I take full advantage of these; equipment check-out that allows us to check out computers, cameras and other recording equipment, hotspots, and more in order to help ensure that students have access to the materials that they need to be able to do their assignments; we also have librarians for almost all major disciplines that are very supportive, willing to help, and accommodating to student needs. The help from the librarians is probably the resource I use the most— they are so helpful! There are a bunch of other resources on Eastern’s campus, but these are the ones that I use most frequently.
Q: What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with fellow students?
A: I have three pieces of advice for other students:
- The first of which is if you use an online program, such as, Canvas, Blackboard, etc. DO NOT DEPEND ONLY ON THE TO-DO LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS. Rather, I recommend getting a planner of some kind to put your assignments’ due dates and readings in so that you can keep track and stay on top of them
- The second piece of advice is to GO TO CLASS. Yes, even the 8:00 am ones—you will regret it if you don’t.
- My third piece of advice is to GET INVOLVED, especially during winter term. It helps the time go by quicker and can help you feel less ‘blah.’
Q: What are your long-term goals, beyond your dream job? How do you hope to make a positive impact on your community or the world?
A: I hope that I can make a positive impact not only on my future students, but their families as well. This is where my impact is going to start, but I don’t plan for it to stop there.
Q: How do you balance your academic responsibilities with your personal life and any additional commitments, such as family obligations or work?
A: The balancing act that I must perform is a lot. I have to balance my normal classes, my student teaching obligations, family obligations, two jobs, and serve in the clubs that I am in. Managing all of these is the biggest reason I support the use of planners. My planner helps me keep my head on straight when I have so much going on at once.
Q: Are there any mentors, role models, or influential figures in your life who have inspired you to pursue higher education?
A: I didn’t really have any one specific person that I looked up to when it came to higher education. My mom went back to school when I was very young; however, I don’t remember talking to her about her experience. My biggest role models for higher education were probably my high school teachers. I didn’t talk to many people about college besides my high school teachers and my CSF College Prep Advisor, but when I did, they always had something good to say about going to college, and their words helped inspire me.