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Name:
Monica "Mo" Claridge
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Residence:
Indianapolis, Indiana
Graduation Year:
2000
Major:
Physical Education (Teacher certification, Kindergarten-12th
grade)
Minor:
Health (with coaching endorsement)
Why did you choose SJC?
When I visited SJC's campus, I fell in love with
it. Everyone was friendly, the class sizes were small, and the faculty members
were actually professors, not teaching assistants. I saw that I wouldn't
be a number, and the people really cared about their students and wanted
them to succeed. That was really important to me. I also chose SJC because
I had the opportunity to play basketball there. As a student, what were you involved in?
I was a member of the women's basketball team, a
Freshmen Leader, Resident Assistant (R.A.), and Peer Tutor. All of these
experiences enabled me to get to know other students as well as gain invaluable
experience in leadership, teamwork, and dedication to different projects
and activities. Those experiences helped me not only in my career but in
my personal life as well. I also gained student-teaching experience while at SJC. I taught at Tri-County High School and Remington and Wolcott Elementary Schools. SJC allowed me to teach at both the elementary and high school level, which was extremely beneficial to me. I originally thought I wanted to teach high school, but after my experience with elementary students, I found out how much I loved teaching younger children. I taught elementary physical education for two years before I started coaching at the college level.
What are you doing now?
I am the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Butler
University in Indianapolis, Indiana. I'm in charge of making all of our
travel plans - booking hotels, organizing meals and transportation, and
scheduling practice times at our away sites. Other duties include "on-the-floor
coaching" as well as assisting with recruiting, coordinating film exchanges
with our competitors, supervising individual guard workouts and study hall
periods for athletes, and scheduling "ball girls" for our games. I am also
Butler's Summer Basketball Camp Director. Basketball is a game that has
always meant a great deal to me, and I am happy that I have the opportunity
to give back to the game as a college coach. How did SJC prepare you for the "real world"?
My experiences as an R.A. definitely prepared me
for the real world. The leadership skills I gained while supervising the
girls who lived on my floor are ones I use every day. The different situations
I faced as a teammate, R.A., Freshmen Leader, and Peer Tutor helped me to
become a better leader and communicator. The small class sizes at SJC prompted
me to participate in each class and formulate my own opinions, and the Core
Program helped me to become a well-rounded person. Since I was involved
in a lot of activities I had to develop time management skills which have
helped me a great deal in the coaching profession. However, Saint Joseph's
College didn't just prepare me to be a coach or a teacher. The most important
lesson I learned was how to make a difference in the lives of students and
how to be a good person and role model for the young people I coach and
teach.
