Getting to Know Amber Hall
Getting to Know Amber Hall
University of Mount Olive at Wilmington, ECE Major
WILMINGTON – Amber Hall is majoring in Early Childhood Education at University of Mount Olive at Wilmington. Locally born and raised, Hall graduated from Hoggard High School in 2001 and started taking courses at Cape Fear Community College. She later received her Optometric/Ophthalmologist assistant certification from Southeastern Community College. However, feeling unfulfilled, Hall began looking for a career change in the fall of 2008.
“I was at a point in my life that I wanted a career that I had a heart for,” she said. “Working with children and their families was something that I enjoyed, and it came naturally to me. I knew getting a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education would open up many opportunities for me in being able to work with children.”
Having heard about the positive reputation of the University of Mount Olive at Wilmington, Hall enrolled. “The modular style programming has been wonderful for me! My life has been transformed by the University of Mount Olive because I never thought I would be able to go to school and work full time. Other colleges offer online and night classes but UMO treats you like family, and they know what you are going through. They have designed programs that are made just for working adults who want to better themselves,” Amber shared.
Hall appreciates the caring and supportive staff and faculty at UMO at Wilmington. “I have never felt like just a number at Mount Olive,” Hall expressed. “From my academic advisor Jenna Geraci who always goes the extra mile to professors like Harold Griffin, who are so knowledgeable about the subject matter, the University of Mount Olive is top notch.”
After starting classes at the University of Mount Olive, Hall accepted a job at Sunset Park Elementary School as a special education para-educator. Hall plans to graduate in August with her bachelor’s degree, and from there her future plans are wide open.
“One of the reasons I chose Early Childhood Education as my major is because there are so many options of what I can do with my degree. I want to teach, but I don’t know if I want to teach special education, pre-kindergarten, or family and consumer science at a middle or high school level. I am in the process of taking the Praxis for all of these areas. I also think early intervention is very crucial and I would love to work in that field. I am praying for God to place me in the right job, and I know that He is always on time! I am so thankful to the University of Mount Olive for placing me on the right path to get where I want to go in my career.”
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Research Triangle Park, Washington, Jacksonville, and in Smithfield at Johnston Community College. For more information, visit old.umo.edu.