你长大后想做什么？ 
 
We’ve all been asked this question at one point in our lives. 
 
University of Nebraska at Kearney’s 过渡性认证计划 student Vincent Smail believes we should be asking a deeper question, “How will you impact your community?” 
 
如果你在14年前问斯梅尔这个问题，当时他还是林肯高中的一名高年级学生，他可能对自己的两个答案都不确定。 现在，斯梅尔回到了林肯高中，但这一次他以高中商业老师的身份生活。 
 
“I always tell people that in this profession, not only do you have a career, but you're also fulfilling a purpose,” Smail said. 
 
Unfortunately, Smail’s journey to his purpose didn’t come easily, though it has helped him become a more impactful teacher. 
 
Directly out of high school, Smail attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he was on the Maverick’s football team. 大二那年，学校取消了橄榄球项目，他转到了林肯的东南社区学院。 
 

“I was actually put on academic probation,” he said. “Regardless of the program ending I may not have been able to return to UNO because of how my grades were.” 
 
尽管他的学习成绩很差，多恩大学还是看到了他的潜力，并通过体育和学术奖学金招募了他去踢足球。  
 
“It was a great school, great experience, but it was still very expensive, and I just didn't know what I wanted to do,” said Smail who had changed his major multiple times throughout his educational career. 
 
当他现在的妻子怀上他们的第一个孩子时，他决定休学一段时间，回到家开始工作。 In hopes to provide for his growing family, he returned to SCC where he graduated with his associate’s degree.  
 
While picking up his diploma at Southeast, he saw a flyer for Bellevue University hanging in the hallway, and he knew it was his “ticket” to getting his bachelor’s degree. 他完成了商业学位，并开始在当地一家律师事务所担任业务经理。 
 
然而，他不断地感受到教书的吸引力。 随着第二个女儿的出生，他担心如此大胆的职业转变会对他的家庭产生负面影响。 
 
“At this time, I had no idea that the transitional program existed,” Smail said about 太阳城娱乐官网’s online TCP. “I'm thinking, ‘I have to get enrolled in school, I have to do the student teaching; 那就又六个月没工资了。’ It was very stressful and scary.” 
 

为了看看他对教学的热情是否是他真正想要追求的东西，斯梅尔开始了代课教学。 

在林肯高中代课时，他遇到了他以前的英语老师、现任林肯高中副校长马克·拉尔森（Mark Larson），拉尔森问斯梅尔是什么让他在毕业十多年后回来的。 
 
“I was like, ‘I'm subbing. I'm thinking about being a teacher,’” Smail said. 
 
那年夏天，拉尔森给斯梅尔打电话，给他提供了一份商业老师的工作。 不幸的是，由于没有教师资格证，斯梅尔被迫拒绝了这个机会。 But Larson wouldn’t let him get away that easily. 
 
“He's like, ‘Don't worry about it. 如果你申请太阳城娱乐官网并被录取，我就可以合法雇用你。 你不需要做学生教学。 I can pay you while you're taking classes,’” Smail said. 
  
太阳城娱乐官网’s TCP 是获得初始教学证书的另一种途径，由太阳城娱乐官网教育部认可。 完全在线的课程允许学生绕过传统的学生教学，通过在自己的课堂上获得体验式学习，同时获得全职教师的报酬。  
 
After completing the requirements of 太阳城娱乐官网’s TCP, students can continue towards a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction by completing an additional 12 credit hours. 
 

Smail’s journey through five different higher educational institutions has not only landed him his dream career, but also nearly three degrees.  
 
“I am grateful for the journey because it's something that I use in my classroom,” Smail said. “I tell students all the time, ‘You're on your own timeline, what your friends are doing is going to be completely different than what you're doing - and that's okay. 你会遇到比你先完成任务的人，你应该祝贺他们，因为轮到你了。’” 
 
His time came, and his wife and two daughters will be alongside him Friday at 太阳城娱乐官网’s commencement ceremony where Smail will be awarded his master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. 
 
“They definitely have motivated me for most of my successes in my adult life,” Smail said about his family. “There were times where I never even thought I would get my undergrad. The fact that I'm here, it's very surreal.”