Two recent graduates join Mount Pleasant Public Schools faculty

Only a matter of months ago, two Central Michigan University alumnae were completing their college educations, and now they’re at the head of classrooms in Mount Pleasant Public Schools.

McKenzie (Witkowski) Gerstenberger graduated in May as an English Education major with minors in Psychology and Leadership, and a Creative Writing certificate. This year she’s teaching English 10 and drama electives for all grades, as well as directing the fall play and the spring musical at Mount Pleasant High School. That’s a full plate for a new teacher, but she feels prepared, thanks to her CMU courses.

“My education at CMU could be described as constantly engaging,” said Gerstenberger. “There was never a moment where I wasn't excited to go to class and be surrounded with engaging classmates, professors, and content every week. The energy I received from all these things has grown my passion for the profession, and now I get to create an engaging environment of my own.”

Gerstenberger says her favorite aspect of teaching so far is watching students grow.

“Seeing an idea or concept ‘click’ in a student's head is an amazing feeling,” she said. “Seeing a passion or excitement grow from that is my favorite thing.”

Her goal in her first year of teaching is to give the students “a feeling of competency, accomplishment, and pride,” she said. “I hope to give my students a lot of agency and choice in their learning so they can create something that they are truly proud to call their own.”

Desiree Cantrell graduated in 2024 with an English Education major and a History minor. She’s now teaching 6^th grade English Language Arts at Mount Pleasant Middle School.

“I’m so thrilled to spend every day expanding my knowledge and skills,” Cantrell said, citing her ongoing education as something she loves most about teaching.

“I love that I spend every day learning new things, even after graduating from CMU,” she said.

And like Gerstenberger, Cantrell’s mentors and peers at CMU sparked her fire to teach, and those connections keep her well supported out in the field.

“I have notes and lists of contacts, all of whom I talk to regularly,” she said. “They answer questions and offer support that is practical and kind, long after I’ve graduated. More specifically, my teaching centered classes offered experience that led me step-by-step to become the educator I am today through hands-on training. Every class was filled with new, well-adapted material and skills that I keep in my teaching tool-belt today.”

Mount Pleasant Public Schools students are lucky to be learning from these new teachers who are passionate about teaching—who in turn are passionate because of teachers they learned from at CMU. And so, CMU’s long tradition of educating great teachers continues.