SC State launches next generation of educators into the profession

Nine graduating seniors take the oath to teach, prepare to shape classrooms and communities across South Carolina

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Jasmine Simmons has known she wanted to be a teacher ever since she was a little girl playing that role with her cousins and sisters. 

The 22-year-old’s dream will now be fulfilled with a degree in early childhood education from South Carolina State University.

“I’m a first-generation college student, so this experience has been eye-opening. It’s been something bigger than I ever could have imagined,” said Simmons, who is from St. George, South Carolina.

“I can’t wait to get into my field as a teacher. It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a young girl. I’m excited now about having the opportunity to put that into practice in a real classroom,” she said

Simmons was one of nine graduating seniors inducted into the teaching profession on Monday, May 4, during SC State’s Educator Induction Ceremony ahead of spring commencement exercises, which will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, May 8, at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. 

The SC State College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences celebrates the students and the contributions they will make to the teaching profession with the ceremony.

Students reflect on preparation and purpose

 Simmons has her post-graduation plans firmly in place.

“After graduation, I will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the South Carolina National Guard, and I’ll be teaching, too. I’ll be a part-time officer along with teaching second grade at Marshall Elementary School in Orangeburg,” she said.

Simmons said SC State has prepared her for her next journey in life.

“SC State prepared me by giving me professors who are very passionate about education. That has rubbed off on me. Even though I was passionate, it made me even more passionate seeing that they really genuinely cared about the future of young minds and shaping them for whatever the world has to offer,” she said.

Along with Simmons, the newly inducted educators and their disciplines are:

• Victoria Davis, biology education.
• Tianna Murray, elementary education.
• Briana Roper, early childhood education.
• Nyasia Witter, early childhood education.
•  Javion Smith, physical education.
• Autumn Staggers, art education.
• Justin Smith, mathematics education.
• ·Olivia Ratliff, middle level English education.

Javion Smith, who is from Orangeburg, said SC State’s professors helped shape him into the man he is. 

“They showed me a lot. They helped build me into the person I am today by being here and being around the nice energy and the professors and advisors,” he said.

“After graduation, I plan on teaching physical education here in Orangeburg. I’m still working on where,” said the 22-year-old, who also offered advice for undergraduates at SC State.

“Never give up. That’s the number one thing. Never say you can’t do something before you try. You never know how you might surprise yourself,” he said. 

Justin, 22, who is also from Orangeburg, plans to teach mathematics at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School and also work on a master’s degree.

He is also president of the university’s Call Me MiSTER Program, which is designed to provide a pipeline of highly effective educators to South Carolina’s public schools who will serve their communities as mentors and role models.

“The Call Me MiSTER Program paired with the teacher education program has given me all of the skills I need to perform effectively in the field. Not too many people are getting into education and much less math education, so I figured I could use what I was a bit better at to help those that either do not like math or just don’t care too much for it,” Justin said.

Ratliff, 22, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, said she was excited about graduation and the recognition that Monday’s ceremony gave to her and her peers. She is also Miss SC State for the 2025-26 academic year.

“I’m attending law school next semester at the University of Florida. I plan to practice education law. It’s an amazing accomplishment to graduate being a certified educator, but it’s also good to be recognized for that. I’m just grateful and just so proud of my classmates,” Ratliff said.

“If you can make it at South Carolina State University, you can make it anywhere in life. I feel more than prepared by South Carolina State University.

“Outside of the curriculum, the instructors have instilled in us so much knowledge and so much enthusiasm to go and make change in the world and go and be good people. Their truly wanting to propel us and launch us to the next step has been amazing,” she said.

“Teaching is not simply a career, it’s a calling,” said Dr. Frederick Evans, provost and vice president of academic affairs at SC State.

“Embrace collaboration and never lose sight of the profound difference you can make in a student’s life,” he said.

Leaders emphasize impact of the profession

Keynote speaker Dr. Shawn Foster, superintendent of the Orangeburg County School District, said he knew that SC State had prepared the inductees to do great things.

Part of his advice to them was to remember to master their internal influences because that would be a representation of their external impact.

The superintendent also encouraged the inductees to remember their purpose, which included working to make a lasting impact on the lives of children, who will hopefully be able to reflect on the positive difference it made in their lives.

“Your purpose will determine your impact,” Foster said, noting that teachers are “capable of doing anything with nothing.”

He also referenced the following quote from American author and poet Albert Pike: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

“I thought about the things that I could do for others. We’re the one profession that we have the opportunity for immortality,” Foster said.

SC State’s teacher education programs are offered through the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Dr. M. Evelyn Fields, dean of the college, said the nine students had reached a milestone in their collegiate careers with their induction into the teaching profession.

“You didn’t quit. You stayed the course and look at what you’ve accomplished,” said Fields, who administered the Educator’s Oath to the seniors. 

Dr. Janice B. Owens, professor and director of the clinical experience program, presided at the induction. Dr. George Johnson, chairman of the SC State Department of Education, also offered words of encouragement, telling the seniors how important their impact as teachers could be.

“The future is sitting in your classroom,” Johnson said.

The newly inducted educators will be among approximately 380 students who receive degrees on Friday at Spring Commencement, which will begin at 10 a.m. in Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, where seating will be limited to ticket holders.

For more information about SC State’s teacher education programs and other fields of study, visit https://scsu.edu/academics.