For members of the UW-Whitewater chapter of Aspiring Educators, going beyond what is taught in the classroom is simply part of their routine, still, co-presidents Ally Erck and Brianna Greuel decided that there was still more that they needed to explore.

Both thought the organization, which usually focuses on teaching members about the professional side of education, should touch on the more creative side of things as well.

“Myself and my co-president, Brianna Greuel, wanted to create a space for future educators to learn and practice all of those behind the scenes skills of teachers that you don’t learn in the classroom,” said Erck. “Right now we are teaching members how to use a Cricut, which is an amazing tool teachers use for cutting paper and other materials, as well as special design writing that can all be used for lesson materials, as well as extra things like bulletin boards and decorations.”

And despite only having one meeting so far, Greuel and Erck are optimistic for the future.

“Our first Create Hour was this past Tuesday, and we had such a great turn out despite the weather,” said Greuel. “Our first project of the semester is a self-care journal, which members turned into scrapbooks for their year, workout journals, and everything in-between.”

Still, Erck hopes to expand into different areas of creativity as time goes on.

“Over the course of the semester we hope to dive into lots of other tools like online design websites, t-shirt designing and creation, and anything that sparks interest as we continue to create,” said Erck. “We are very excited to encourage any and all ideas throughout the semester and hope for it to become a self directed space for people to work and just take a break from class work.”

In the end, the relaxation aspect is just an added benefit to the positive impact it has on student’s futures.

“This program is extremely helpful because I can use these creative tools within my future classroom as well as other aspects within my life,” said student and Aspiring Educators Fundraising Coordinator, Lyndsay Kranz.