After disagreeing with God about His call on her life to become a teacher, Michelle Dwyer finally decided to give up a dream of living under a tree as a missionary in Africa and submit to His will.

“I just wanted something out of the box. I didn’t want to do the same thing every day,” Dwyer said. “I didn’t always want to be in school for the rest of my life.

So, she told God that she did not want to do it.

As a freshman, Dwyer spent weeks praying for an answer to replace her undeclared major. She even took the career assessment test in student development, and the result was the same.

“It was like, yeah, you’ll be good in education,” Dwyer said, “and I was like ‘no.’”

After much thought, she finally said to God, “OK, fine, I’ll give up everything, just tell me what I’m supposed to do.” Dwyer said.

She received the answer one night as she prayed during Evensong.

“He very clearly said to me that I was supposed to go into education,” Dwyer said.

Now a senior at CU, Dwyer is student teaching ninth-graders at Creston High School as she prepares to graduate with a major in biology.

“Biology was something I thought could challenge students to think critically in their beliefs because it’s easy to get wrapped up in the empiricism of science,” Dwyer said. “And because I think it is the most fun place to teach.”

Dwyer did some off-campus study, going to the University of Minnesota to study biology and to Oxford to study English, which is her minor.

“That was the time of my life, for sure,” Dwyer said about both schools. “Oxford was pretty stinking amazing.”

She went sight-seeing throughout the United Kingdom and visited other countries like Spain, Turkey, Austria and Czech Republic.

Dwyer said student teaching consists of observing for a couple of weeks and then fully taking over the class. She plans lessons, grades assignments and does all the other duties of a normal teacher.

Robert Keys, assistant professor of science, met Dwyer as a freshman when she was enrolled in his Science 100 class. He eventually became her adviser.

He said that one of the things that he appreciates about Dwyer is her inquisitiveness.

“Michelle is a very curious student, who likes to question things and does a good job at questioning and likes to think through things,” Keys said.

Douglas Mohrmann, associate professor of religion, also said that Dwyer’s curiosity is one characteristic he remembers also.

He said that Dwyer would talk to him after class about theology issues. She went beyond the classroom and scheduled meetings over lunch or coffee with Mohrmann to continue their discussions.

“There was an inquisitiveness that kept her pursuing answers to her questions,” Mohrmann said.

Dwyer said that some of the challenges she has encountered with teaching these ninth-graders are their lack of motivation and tendency to ignore instructions. She said that many of the students hold low standards for themselves.

“And so, to go in and be like, ‘guys you can do better than this’ is really hard because they don’t believe it, and they don’t want to step out and challenge themselves,” Dwyer said.

But she said her biggest challenge is “integrating how I am supposed to be Christ to these students,” in an urban school and foreign environment for her.

There are somewhat amusing moments teaching ninth-graders.

“They make farting noises during tests,” Dwyer said, “and if it becomes an issue, you have to send them out so that the rest of the kids don’t get distracted.”

Once Dwyer graduates, she plans to move back to Chicago, which is where she grew up, and teach upper-level high school students. She will focus on transitioning out of the college life, spending time with her sister who is preparing for marriage and seeking answers from God.

“Basically, I think I am just going to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how the Lord wants me to invest in the community around me,” Dwyer said.

The biology major said that she will miss the passion and like-mindedness of the students of Cornerstone and the many friendships.

“We’re just a quirky bunch at Cornerstone,” Dwyer said.