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Ocean Springs, Miss. - February 22, 2010. Estrella Ward could teach at the college level, but she wants to be like her college instructor.
She wants more education and experience to provide future education majors with life examples of how to handle impressionable preschoolers and kindergarten students.
“I want more experience in the classroom,” Ward said.
After graduating from Ocean Springs High in 2005, she received an associate degree from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and a bachelor’s degree from University of Southern Mississippi in child development.
The 23-year-old plans to study for a master’s degree but has not decided which college to attend.
Ward said she’s been working with children for six years. Right now, the preschool instructor teaches 3- and 4-year-olds at Biloxi Head Start.
“I like seeing children learn. At that age, it’s really a good time to instill things in them, and they really soak it up,” she said.
She teaches Sunday school at Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ in Pascagoula. The group ranges from 7- to 11-year-olds.
“To me there’s not much of a major difference (between pre-schoolers and older students),” Ward said. “To me, they already know, and you’re just building on that knowledge.”
She encourages students to learn to the extent of their ability.
“I want them to try for the best they can achieve, try for more,” she said. “They can be more than status quo.”
Ward said she hopes to have her own day care someday.
Ward’s sister, 20-year-old Donita, also is studying child development at the Jackson County campus of MGCCC.
The siblings have lived in Ocean Springs since their father, former Capt. Clarence Ward, was transferred to Keesler Air Force Base. Their mother, Starla Ward, works for the International Relief Development.
“It wasn’t a bad move at all,” said Estrella Ward.
The preschool instructor and her sister are not ordinary military brats, Ward said. They did not have continuous relocations with parents on tours of duty around the world, which is what occurs with most military children.
Though she was born in Columbus, Ohio, her family’s move to Ocean Springs about seven years ago was their only relocation after 17 years in Junction City, Kan., near the U.S. Army’s Fort Riley.
They arrived in south Mississippi during the middle of Ward’s sophomore year at Ocean Springs High.
“I liked it. Everyone’s really friendly. They made me feel welcome. I made a lot of friends,” she said.
Ward said she is a people person anyway, and she gets along with everyone. Her friends call her Star, the Spanish meaning of Estrella. She was a member of Junior Civitan and played clarinet in the Ocean Springs High School Band for a year. She’d also participated three years during middle school at Apostolic Academy in Junction City.
The Mississippi Press
