Rising Sussex Academy junior Kaia Medrano recently participated in University of Delaware’s Teachers of Tomorrow Program for high school students interested in becoming educators.

“I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was little,” Kaia said. “We learned about different lesson plans, how to keep students engaged and focused, and a lot about leadership.”

The two-week summer institution admitted only 30 students, all of whom now have the opportunity to take two dual-enrollment courses from UD, Kaia said.

Kaia stayed in the dorms for the two-week period, at the conclusion of which she was selected from the cohort to present a speech at the closing ceremony.

“I love public speaking,” she said. “I talked about my experience with the summer institute itself and my [North Georgetown] elementary school teacher Mrs. [Elaine] Tingle, and how she is one of the biggest reasons why I want to become a teacher.”

Sussex Academy is a tuition-free, public charter K-12 school in Georgetown. Its mission is to create a supportive school environment with accelerated learning opportunities that prepare students to explore, experience and excel.