Practice Blog

• Who Am I?
• Courtney Browning
• 23 years old 
• Born and raised in Mobile, AL 
• Originally started at USA in the Spring of 2010, but transferred to UA in Spring of 2012 
• Graduated Cum Laude in May 2014 from the UA with a Bachelor's in Human Environmental Sciences with a Minor in Food Science 
• Majoring in Secondary Education/Biology 
• Love to cook, fish, work with my church's youth group, and spend time with family
• Family
• Dad has a Bachelor's in Bible Studies/Theology from Central Bible College 
• Mom has a Bachelor's in Elementary Education from the University of Arkansas
• Master's in Education Leadership from USA 
• Was a teacher for 20+ years, now the Assistant Principal at JE Turner Elementary School 
• Brother works for my grandfather's automotive business 
• Why do I want to be an educator?
• Love being in the classroom (worked as a substitute) 
• Grandmother and Mom were both teachers (inspiration) 
• Have a passion for science and want to express that 
• What does an educator do in his or her practice?
• Inspiring kids through education
• Mentor
• Leader 
• What are my passions?
• Cooking
• Mentoring/inspiring others 
• (link to a Chopped episode) 

Hey everyone! My name is Courtney Browning and I was born and raised here in Mobile, AL. I'm majoring in Secondary Education/Biology and I'm absolutely looking forward to being an educator. I originally began school at South Alabama in the spring of 2010 and after living in this city my entire life, I decided it was time for a change of scenery. In January of 2012, I transferred to the University of Alabama and it was one of the best decisions of my life! I was nearly halfway done with all of my pre-requisites when I got up there so I basically jumped into my core classes. While in school there, I got to witness two football national championships, a softball national championship, a tennis championship, and a gymnastics championship! Before I knew it, I was ready to graduate! In May of 2014, I graduated Cum Laude in my class with a Bachelor's in Human Environmental Sciences with a minor in Food Science (hence my love for science)! In my spare time, I love to cook, spend time with my family, work with my church's youth group at the City Church of Mobile, and just relax when I can.

To tell you a little bit about my family, my parents recently celebrated their 28th anniversary while my grandparents celebrated their 53rd! My mother graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education as well as a Master's in Educational Leadership from South Alabama; she was in the Mobile County Public School System as a teacher for 26 years and she now serves at the Assistant Principal at JE Turner Elementary. My father went to Central Bible College and served as a youth pastor at First Assembly of God in Bentonville, Arkansas, also served as the head pastor of Whitefield Assembly in Ripley, TN, and also as the youth pastor at First Assembly Mobile (now City Church of Mobile). He is now the sole owner of a floor contracting business. My brother manages my grandfather's automotive shop and repairs video game pieces in his spare time. 

I believe an educator should inspire children through their practice. I'm not one to bad mouth anyone's profession but I believe that a person that aspires to be a teacher should be absolutely sure that that's what they want to be doing for the rest of his/her life because if you hate what you do, there's absolutely no passion behind it. I also believe that an educator should embrace the position that they're in (whether it be a teacher or administrator) and roll with the punches and make it their own. I'm extremely passionate about my future and I cannot wait to shape young minds and share my passion for science with them! One of my passions is cooking and I think that the best way to describe that is with a clip to one of my favorite shows (where I derive inspiration), Chopped. My other passion would have to be learning because I grew up in a home where education was required and I've always just enjoyed furthering my knowledge through various forms of books, websites, classes, etc. I guess the last thing I will have to say is that my passion for wanting to become a teacher comes from my mother because through each and every class that she had, the children would look up to her and know that she not only cared about their education, but their well being as well. My mom is a compassionate person and she loves her job and even though the stress can get to her sometimes, having her to look up to is truly a blessing!