{"id":1773,"date":"2026-04-28T09:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/?p=1773"},"modified":"2026-05-04T13:55:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T13:55:00","slug":"becoming-a-literacy-leader-maries-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/becoming-a-literacy-leader-maries-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a Literacy Leader: Marie’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Early in my teaching career, I was certain I would spend my entire professional life in my own classroom. Even after nineteen years, what I cherish most are the relationships I build with students, especially the moments when they begin to see themselves as confident readers. Those breakthrough moments still mean everything to me, and for a long time, I believed my professional path would always stay rooted there.<\/p>\n

Over time, however, I found myself reflecting more deeply on my practice and my students who showed up eager to learn but weren\u2019t experiencing breakthroughs. I wanted to understand why. That curiosity led me into searching for answers in articles and books, and I began questioning my own instruction. Without fully realizing it, I was beginning to grow beyond the walls of my classroom, which ultimately led me to seek out a master\u2019s degree program.<\/p>\n

When I chose to pursue the Master of Education with a concentration in Literacy<\/a> program at Furman University, I was drawn to its strong reputation in education and literacy. I wanted a program that was practical and meaningful, one that honored the realities of today\u2019s classrooms while also challenging me to grow. I was seeking a deeper understanding, but also clarity and confidence in my instructional decisions. From the first course, I immediately applied what I was learning directly to my classroom. The strategies we discussed immediately strengthened my instruction and the way I analyzed student work.<\/p>\n

The most valuable part of the program was its emphasis on reflection paired with real world application. I wasn\u2019t just learning theory, I was living it daily. The program deepened my understanding of how literacy develops and how to support diverse learners with intention. The relationships I built with professors and classmates also shaped me in lasting ways, pushing my thinking and helping me see myself as a leader.<\/p>\n

The impact continued beyond graduation, eventually leading me to pursue a doctorate. Furman gave me the confidence to support colleagues, lead instructional conversations, and advocate for evidence-based practices. Returning as an adjunct instructor in the MA.Ed. program at Furman was a full-circle moment, moving from student to guiding other educators as they grow into literacy leaders.<\/p>\n

For anyone considering this program, I can confidently say it will not only strengthen your practice, but transform the way you think about teaching, learning, and leading meaningful change.<\/p>\n

\n

Marie Havran, Ed.D.<\/a>, is a Literacy Specialist at Brook Glenn Elementary in Greenville County. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in Literacy at Furman University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early in my teaching career, I was certain I would spend my entire professional life in my own classroom. Even after nineteen years, what I cherish most are the relationships […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[38,223,42,41],"class_list":["post-1773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-education","tag-furman-innovation-lab","tag-furman-university","tag-literacy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1773"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1789,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions\/1789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}