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Michelle Semancik
Instructional Designer
Alma Mater
St. Bonaventure University; University of Cincinnati; Western Governors University
St. Bonaventure University; University of Cincinnati; Western Governors University
What She’s Passionate About
Michelle is passionate about finding themes in complex problems and building learning solutions around them.
Her Professional Experience
Michelle has a BA in History from St. Bonaventure University, an MA in History with a focus on Ottoman and British Empires from the University of Cincinnati, and an MEd in Instructional Design from Western Governors University. She taught high school social studies for 11 years; most consistently she taught Advanced Placement and College Prep United States Government and Politics to students in their junior year. She also worked to plan and develop a program to improve teacher effectiveness through coaching and professional development sessions.
An Unlikely Path
Michelle has an MA in History with a focus on Ottoman and English Empires and studied Turkish in Istanbul and Arabic as an undergrad with the intention of being an academic before realizing that, while she was passionate about her studies, academia was not what she wanted her career to be. She lived in Davis, CA for two years and worked as the office manager/payroll officer/accounts payable/accounts receivable jack-of-all-trades for a family-owned chain of restaurants before moving home to teach US Government at the high school that she attended for six years. She also taught some World History and Spanish classes and started a brand-new Psychology elective at that school before moving on to a different school, where she taught US History, World History, and US Government in addition to helping to design and implement an instructional leadership program to share and coach best practices for data-driven instruction.
Values in Action
She believes fully that adult education needs to be as mindful and audience centered as it does for children and teens. We don't magically change the way we learn or engage with instruction when we turn 18!
Fun Fact
Michelle studied Spanish, Arabic, and Turkish but speaks none of them well- a fact that she’s hoping to reclaim some time to fix soon! She’s also a national lands junkie and visit as many National Parks and National Historic Sites as possible- she constantly adds stops to road trips with her husband to visit even more! Michelle also enjoys finding interesting local activities and planning day trips on Saturdays.