A Hoosier Through and Through

Molly Giddens always had a feeling she would attend Indiana University. What she was not expecting, however, was that she would become a teacher. Her friends and family said they always knew she would make a great educator, but it was not until her sophomore year that she discovered what others had known all along. After taking an introductory education course, Molly applied and was accepted to the Community of Teachers program in the School of Education. The program prepares students to teach in a highly personalized and hands-on environment by allowing them to choose a mentor to work with in the classroom. Molly said that working with a mentor helped her apply classroom theories in a practical and meaningful way. By the time she started her student teaching at Batchelor Middle School, she already felt like she was part of the classroom. Now, twelve years later, she is teaching 8th grade English in that very same classroom, and she has mentored three Community of Teachers students from IU, one of whom is now her colleague at the school.

When she is not in the classroom, Molly and her husband Chad, also an IU alumnus, love to attend various IU events. They are season ticketholders for IU Football, and Molly is proud to say she has held IU Basketball and IU Auditorium tickets since her freshman year. Whether she is cheering on IU from Assembly Hall, or mentoring a School of Education student in her classroom, Molly Giddens is a Hoosier through and through.