Third-year Psychology major Abigail Rose Marks strongly connects with Elizabethtown College’s motto of “Educate for Service” and hopes to implement that motto into her future career. Originally from Bare, Md., Marks has a strong connection with her family and her faith, which drives her desire to connect with and help others.
Marks looked at several different colleges before deciding on any in particular and didn’t even have Etown in her top five schools that she applied to. However, she was particularly appreciative of Etown’s academic accommodations and its warm and inviting atmosphere. She currently lives in one of the on-campus houses and has enjoyed her time at Etown so far.
Marks discussed how Etown’s atmosphere also felt familiar due to its motto of “Educate for Service.” This was similar to the mottos of her middle and high schools, which both encouraged students to volunteer and give back to the community. To her, the transition to Etown felt like a natural progression.
Marks came to Etown with her major undecided but began exploring her interests. From there, she branched over into the Education Department to see if she would like going in that direction. She saw herself potentially working with kids with learning disabilities, as she herself has dyslexia.
“I wanted to pay it back to the people who helped me because they impacted a huge part of my schooling, education, and how I got to the point I was,” Marks said.
She didn’t see herself as a typical educator who stands at the board and leads the class but rather as a school psychologist who would work with kids with behavioral issues or learning disabilities. She declared this concentration later, after deciding to major in psychology. As psychology is a very broad field, Marks waited until she had taken the Career Seminar Course to hammer down exactly what she wanted to do with her major going forward.
In regards to her career path, she found guidance in a family friend who worked as a school psychologist, as well as her professors from Etown. She notes that Dr. Pretz and Dr. Dalton have both had a notable influence on her and helped her to achieve her potential.
“I feel like I was able to get information and learn from them, but they also stretched my capabilities in a way, it was very challenging,” Marks said.
Marks works in the Learning Zone as a Student Coordinator. She organizes tutoring requests and assists with student testing accommodations by communicating with professors, giving directions, and helping students complete the waiver forms before testing.
Marks is also a part of the Student Assembly as a Student Employee Representative. Here, she represents student workers by taking their feedback and presenting it to the Student Assembly. She also suggests new ideas for student workers to improve their experience based off of the gathered feedback.
Marks enjoys playing piano, singing and dancing in her free time. She is a part of Emotion and is in three dances. She finds dance to be therapeutic, as it gives her a chance to turn off the academic part of her brain for a bit and just get into the different characters she portrays. She will be performing in “Look What You Made Me Do”, “Grease Remix” and “Lose My Breath.”
“I prefer dances with less people, as I feel I can get to know everyone a bit better, but I chose more people when I want to stretch out my dance abilities and challenge myself,” Marks said. Depending on the dance, she may be able to express herself in different ways.
