Profiles from the Pack: Emily Pink

Emily Pink has achieved rock star status as Madison College’s Early Childhood Educator Program Director, earning a Faculty Excellence award thanks to her great ideas, hard work, and commitment. Emily's spirit radiates through the community as she successfully gets things done.

What does working at Madison College mean to you?
Madison College’s primary role is to support the community and that’s one of the reasons I’m most proud to teach at the college. I love the idea that we are here to serve the folks who are committed to caring for our youngest citizens.

What excites you about the future Early Learning Center at Madison College Goodman South?

The Early Learning Campus will make a huge difference to the people, both the Madison College community and the south-side Madison community. Not only are we going to serve our students who are trying so hard to take classes and struggle with childcare, but also the community who need childcare to be able to go to work. There are a lot of benefits to having childcare on-site. Imagine teaching a complicated strategy to our early childhood learning students in class and then being able to go downstairs to the childcare center, look through the window and watch the theory in action.

What makes Madison College Goodman South Campus so special?
I love being part of Goodman South Campus because everyone is here for the right reasons. It's just the right size—big enough to be a college, yet small enough to wave to students, staff, and faculty because you see them every day. There is a great deal of pride at Goodman South Campus, and people are proud to be part of it.

Tell us how you came to your current Madison College position.
I’ve been here since 2000 and became program director three years ago. I didn’t want to do it at first because I didn’t think I had the skill sets, and then I figured it out and I really, really liked it. I like knowing all the goings-on of everything in the department.

What is your super skill?
I don’t take no for an answer. I don’t want people to tell me I can’t do something, so I want to make it happen. I enjoy having some control over what we do.

What accomplishment at Madison College are you proud of?
The main department focus has been on translating classes into Spanish, rather than just offering them in a bilingual format. We discovered that many students cannot take our classes because their English proficiency isn't high enough. It's important to reach out to this group because it’s unfair to limit participation to English speakers, especially when there's such a shortage of early childhood teachers. Initially, we faced resistance because of the Department of Human Services (DHS) regulations. Fortunately, Jessica Cioci, School of Human and Protective Services Dean, understood the significance of our efforts and how the community could benefit. We persisted, secured a grant, and hired a full-time faculty member who is translating our classes into Spanish. This effort marks the beginning of our journey to make our courses more accessible.

What advice do you have for non-English students considering Madison College’s Early Childhood Education programs?

Some people are afraid of going to college because they don't think they can do it. However, many students find that in college, they are studying subjects they care about, which makes learning and studying a lot easier. We work to rebuild their confidence as learners.

Find more information about Madison College Goodman South Campus and Early Childhood Education.