One of the many things that Northwestern Stand Out is their many student-led clubs on campus. These clubs range in purpose from ones that provide yummy treats to ones that provide opportunities to discuss hard hitting topics. They all provide opportunities to find facets of community within NW.
The RedEd Club is NW’s Education Club. It is a special club for any and all education majors, from elementary ed, to secondary ed, special ed, music ed, and more. While they have done events before that collaborated with other majors, the RedEd Club is run by education majors for education majors. According to one member of the leadership team, Abigail Martinson, the club is “designed to provide meaningful experiences beyond the classroom. [The RedEd Club] hosts a variety of engaging events that bring education students together, foster community and allow hands-on learning opportunities.”
The RedEd club was started many years ago, however, it has more recently been restarted by an NW Education graduate, Megan Nicholas, in 2021, who is now a teacher at Walthill Public School. Nicholas wanted to encourage education students to get more diverse experiences outside of practicum hours in the area.
One prominent aspect of the RedEd Club that Nicholas helped reinstate is the club’s regular trip to Walthill Public School, which is located on a Native American Reservation in Nebraska. This trip started as just a daytrip, but has grown into a trip that the ed students take every semester.
On this trip, the ed. students that o have the opportunity to shadow a student on the reservation for an entire school day to see what their life is like and to experience a culture that is completely different from what they experience in the local community. The ed students also get to run a basketball camp for the students on the reservation and listen to a panel of teachers from the school discuss what it is like teaching at a reservation school.
The experience of hearing from these teachers allowed the ed. students to observe some principles from classes put into practice. After the discussion, they were able to have a time of reflection in small groups to help cement the experience in all of the education students’ memories.
“We go there to learn from the students and the teachers. Each time we attend, our eyes are opened to the experience of living and going to school on a reservation.” said Norah Beekhuizen, another member of the RedEd leadership team “While it is so different, one fact stays the same: the kids there are kids worthy of love, intention and support. Being able to connect with people there has brought us so much joy and builds our cultural experience before we become teachers.”
Martinson also commented on the trip, saying that they got to “experience a diverse school community that faces unique challenges such as poverty and academic struggles.” She also said that they got to see how “even in the midst of hardship, the students of Walthill radiate joy, love and resilience.”
The trip to Walthill is one of the main events that the RedEd club puts on. Oftentimes, students can get stuck in a bubble of experiences and forget all of the many new experiences that exist even as close as Walthill. This trip helps open education students’ eyes to the vast world of education and just how much education can be a mission field to struggling students.
For any education student wanting to learn more about the RedEd Club and get involved, both Martinson and Beekhuizen encourage them to contact them, Rylie Saturn, the third member of the leadership team, or any of the education professors. There is no strict membership, so anyone is welcome to come to their events.
