“From elementary school up until high school, I felt like SU was always hosting some event or coming out to my school for some reason and I always knew I loved the school. Then, when I decided I wanted to be an English teacher, I knew Ship was the place for me.”

Angela Piper graduated from Shippensburg Area High School. She’s now a part of Shippensburg University’s class of 2021 in the English with Secondary Certification, B.A. program. Despite a familiarity with Ship, she’s found much more than she initially expected.

“The most surprising aspect of my experiences at Ship have been how much I actually want to be involved on the campus. I came in as a freshman thinking I was just going to go to class and go home, and then after four years I’d have a degree,” Piper said.

Since joining the Ship family, Piper has found plenty of opportunities outside the classroom. She has joined the National Society of Leadership and Success, worked in the library and served as a writing tutor. She also holds vice president positions with Ship’s chapters of the National Council of Teachers of English and Sigma Tau Delta, previously serving as president of the latter. On top of that, Piper is already making good use of her Creative Writing Minor as editor-in-chief of The Reflector.

“The clubs that are organized in the English Department are allowing me to get real experience working as an editor for a publication and getting exposure to working with young people,” Piper said.

Piper says she has never doubted her choice of Shippensburg University. She credits her professors as a main reason for this.

“I truly appreciate my relationships with the Ship faculty. My professors have pushed me to develop my writing skills beyond what I thought was good writing. I was really shocked as a freshman when I had my first English class and I wasn’t immediately good at writing like I had been in high school. My professors’ mentorship has been the greatest benefit to my writing. But they’ve also pushed me to further my communication and leadership skills as well through their feedback and encouragement to pursue new things.”

Read more stories from the Class of 2021.