Cassidy Jasperson, elementary education senior, will be teaching in more than just the classroom after graduation.
Jasperson has recently been offered a job at Broken Arrow High School to start the first girl’s varsity wrestling program in Oklahoma.
“I’m still in school, but I’m trying to start this career,” Jasperson said. “I’m a fifth-year senior and I’ve been wrestling for almost a decade.”
In addition to being the head wrestling coach, Jasperson will also be a teacher at the high school.
“I’ll be teaching high school special education, which is cool because that’s originally what I wanted to do, but at OCU they don’t have that degree,” she said. “But you can take classes here so everyone who graduates with a general education degree has learned to work with kids with special needs.”
Jasperson said the opportunity came to her through her connections in the wrestling community.
“I think it’s just competing and having coaches from Oklahoma. They reached out to me out of the blue, and I thought it sounded awesome,” she said. “I went up for a visit and fell in love. Everybody there is amazing, and the program is a dream.”
Broken Arrow High School is home to the No. 1 men’s wrestling program in the state.
Jasperson said she first picked up wrestling in the eighth grade.
“My dad wrestled, and we lived in east Texas, but there’s no wrestling there,” she said. “My mom wanted to move to Houston with her husband and my dad said ‘you can move down to Houston as long as you try out for the wrestling team,’ and I fell in love with it.”
Jasperson continued to wrestle in high school and is on the OCU women’s wrestling team.
Jasperson said when she came to OCU, she was a biology major.
“I have a family of teachers, and it’s almost like that rebellion of ‘I don’t want to be a teacher because everyone in my family is a teacher,’ but I got to the point where I only wanted to teach,” she said. “Anything I did I ended up coaching youth practices or doing something with kids. And I just needed to change my major.”
Jasperson changed her major during the fall semester of her sophomore year. She said the teaching program has allowed her to have many different experiences.
“The teacher walk-out was during my student teaching, so we got to go to the Capitol and talk to legislators,” she said. “And then I got to go to the Oklahoma Children’s Theatre and do a summer camp with my fellow student teachers. It was really fun.”
Jasperson said she appreciates the experiences she had during the walk-out.
“We don’t really learn about the political side of teaching,” she said. “What if we’re ever in a position in the future where we have to take those measures?”
Jasperson said the teaching program on campus has prepared her well for after graduation.
“At OCU I feel so prepared to teach,” she said. “I know friends from big universities who never got a lot of experience in schools, but here I can go meet with teachers in schools.”
Jasperson fulfilled her student teaching credits last spring. She taught second grade at Quail Creek Elementary and fifth grade science at Deer Creek Intermediate School.
Jasperson said she appreciates all of the support in her wrestling career.
“I have a couple coaches back home who I talk to every week. They’re father figures to me,” she said. “And what’s nice about wrestling is that everyone and everybody’s really supportive. Women’s wrestling isn’t really a thing in this state, and the feedback has been so wonderful.”
Margaret Douma, education senior, said Jasperson is a great asset to OCU wrestling.
“She will be a great coach to future girls wanting to wrestle,” Douma said. “Oklahoma wrestling is lucky to have her lead the way for women’s wrestling in the state. “
Jasperson advises students to expand their interactions beyond their major.
“Make friends outside of your major and join groups and clubs. Some of my best friends are people I met who are not in my major,” she said. “Looking back, I wish I put myself out there even more.”
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