On Saturday, February 4, the University of South Carolina Upstate hosted its second annual Teaching Fellow Mock Interview Day. This day was created in 2016 (by Jake Gilbert and Sara Camp, two junior teaching fellows at USC Upstate) for high school seniors who applied for the teaching fellowship and made it to the interview process. The goal of the mock interviews is to prepare potential fellows for the actual interview day, that will determine who will and will not be a South Carolina Teaching Fellow.
For a semester, Jake Gilbert and Sara Camp, along with the recruitment committee of Teaching Fellows at USC Upstate, visited local high schools to inform high school seniors about the Mock Interview Day and all that it had to offer. About 30 potential Teaching Fellows signed up and attended the mock interview on Saturday.
About 25 USC Upstate Teaching Fellows volunteered to be a part of the Mock Interview Day. These fellows were separated into different teams, such as the Welcoming team, the Questions and Answers team, the Writing team, the Interview team, and the Shift team. Each team played a vital role in making sure that the day ran efficiently and smoothly.
The process began at 9 am, just as it would on the real interview day. The USC Upstate Teaching Fellows, along with the director of Teaching Fellows at USC Upstate, Dr. Hurren, welcomed the potential fellows with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Coffee, juice, and Smiles. Dr. Hurren began the day by introducing himself and both Gilbert and Camp explained to the interviewees how the day would proceed.
Next, all of the interviewees were directed to go into the writing room, where they all had a prompt to respond to for 30 minutes. And when they finished, each interviewee was brought to an interview room, where s/he was interviewed by a team of three interviewers, just like they will be interviewed on the actual interview day.
After being interviewed, the interviewee waited on feedback from the interview team. When the interview team had finished deliberating, the interviewee received a document with feedback of their strengths and improvement areas listed and each was given the opportunity to ask questions. By that time, the writing team had graded the essays and provided feedback, as well.
Almost every interviewee came to the Mock Interview Day feeling both anxious and nervous, but left feeling confident and prepared. The USC Upstate teaching fellows were all dedicated to making sure the potential fellows felt prepared for the actual interview day by not only giving feedback on interviews and essays, but also personal tips about professionalism, professional attire, etc. USC Upstate looks forward to hosting a Mock Interview Day annually, making each year a bigger and better success.
For a semester, Jake Gilbert and Sara Camp, along with the recruitment committee of Teaching Fellows at USC Upstate, visited local high schools to inform high school seniors about the Mock Interview Day and all that it had to offer. About 30 potential Teaching Fellows signed up and attended the mock interview on Saturday.
About 25 USC Upstate Teaching Fellows volunteered to be a part of the Mock Interview Day. These fellows were separated into different teams, such as the Welcoming team, the Questions and Answers team, the Writing team, the Interview team, and the Shift team. Each team played a vital role in making sure that the day ran efficiently and smoothly.
The process began at 9 am, just as it would on the real interview day. The USC Upstate Teaching Fellows, along with the director of Teaching Fellows at USC Upstate, Dr. Hurren, welcomed the potential fellows with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Coffee, juice, and Smiles. Dr. Hurren began the day by introducing himself and both Gilbert and Camp explained to the interviewees how the day would proceed.
Next, all of the interviewees were directed to go into the writing room, where they all had a prompt to respond to for 30 minutes. And when they finished, each interviewee was brought to an interview room, where s/he was interviewed by a team of three interviewers, just like they will be interviewed on the actual interview day.
After being interviewed, the interviewee waited on feedback from the interview team. When the interview team had finished deliberating, the interviewee received a document with feedback of their strengths and improvement areas listed and each was given the opportunity to ask questions. By that time, the writing team had graded the essays and provided feedback, as well.
Almost every interviewee came to the Mock Interview Day feeling both anxious and nervous, but left feeling confident and prepared. The USC Upstate teaching fellows were all dedicated to making sure the potential fellows felt prepared for the actual interview day by not only giving feedback on interviews and essays, but also personal tips about professionalism, professional attire, etc. USC Upstate looks forward to hosting a Mock Interview Day annually, making each year a bigger and better success.
