Staff Spotlight Initiative staff member Erin Morgart embraces inquiry and balance in education and life

When Initiative professional learning facilitator Erin Morgart joined her colleagues at a donor meeting, she stood out for a number of reasons.

“We went around and introduced ourselves and we shared a fun fact,” Morgart said. “Mine was that I absolutely do not like odd numbers, and the donor just thought that was so hilarious.”

To navigate her dislike, she keeps the volume of her devices on an even number and likes to buy items in pairs. Morgart joked that her brother purposefully switches the volume level to an odd number whenever they watch TV together, just to annoy her.

Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, Morgart has always loved to read and is currently working her way through The New York Times Best 100 Young Adult Books list.

Morgart has slowly been chipping away at a long and detailed bucket list consisting of places to explore because she said, “there’s just so much to see.” Travelling to all 50 states is next for her.

“I haven’t seen or visited any of the states that are east of New York,” Morgart said. “My next big goal is visit those that are on that little peninsula.”

For now, Morgart sticks around in State College as an assistant teaching professor of education. She became a student teacher supervisor for the college of education after earning her Ph.D. from Penn State.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary and early childhood education from Arizona State University, Morgart said she moved to Pennsylvania because she was ready for a change in more ways than one.

Not long after, she accepted a position with the Initiative.

What pulled me in is the fact that I believe inquiry is truly a powerful way to learn and grow as a teacher.

Erin Morgart, Initiative program co-facilitator

“What pulled me in is the fact that I believe inquiry is truly a powerful way to learn and grow as a teacher,” Morgart said. “So, it’s something that I felt passionate about.”

Morgart has worked with school districts, including PENNCREST, Curwensville, and Keystone Central, to provide professional development sessions and guide educators through the inquiry process to explore how to discuss difficult topics.

“It helps teachers grow their practice as far as conducting conversations around difficult topics,” Morgart said. “It allows the participants to really develop as teachers because they are passionate about the learning that they are doing.”

Her job as a student-teaching supervisor relates to her work with the Initiative since, Morgart explains, she helps preservice teachers know how to address difficult topics with their students.

“The work that the Initiative is doing ties into my professional and personal passions and areas of growth,” Morgart said. “It allows all aspects of my life to expand to areas I didn’t know I could go.”