When Jessica Fressle isn't on the basketball court, the senior from Levittown, N.Y. student teaches fifth grade math at Pond Hill Elementary School in Wallingford, Conn. and volunteers with the Hamden Transition Academy, helping students with disabilities.
 
However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fressle, like so many other teachers worldwide, have been forced to teach her students through distance learning from her Long Island home.

"The transition to distant learning has been a challenge for all classroom teachers, parents, and students," Fressle said. "As a student-teacher, my responsibilities are limited; however, I am continuing to plan and teach all math concepts to my amazing fifth graders. Teaching math through online learning and without real interaction has been a challenge, but I have learned new technology tricks that have helped me reach my students the best way possible."

Fressle said one of the difficulties with online learning is monitoring the true understanding each student has during the teaching, but she said her students have done "an incredible job throughout this difficult transition." Because students are accustomed to an everyday routine and having multiple teacher and classmate support throughout the day, Fressle said the lack of socialization and academic support can impact a student emotionally and academically.
 
"This is a sudden change for everyone and young students have also been extremely affected," Fressle said. "I have been tutoring my [9 and 10-year-old] cousins who have autism and they have struggled with the adjustment of schedule change and online work. My heart breaks for all the students who are struggling with this transition for so many reasons."
 
While this challenge was so sudden for teachers and students, she thinks there will be positives that will come out of this experience and will help people appreciate what they have and what they are able to do.

"As a teacher, it makes us appreciate being in the classroom with our students everyday," Fressle said. "There aren't many jobs when you leave everyday and think 'wow that was a great day' and all you did was your normal routine. Just like other new people in their career, this is a challenge we weren't prepare for and the amount of learning that will come from it can only be beneficial in the future."
  Along with student-teaching at Pond Hill and volunteering at Hamden Transition Academy, Fressle is the president of the Council for Exceptional Children, an organization that helps fundraise and implement ways for future teachers to gain experience in the classroom. She is also a member of Southern's Future Teachers organization and participated in a Guatemala study abroad program where students who aspire to teach visited and volunteered at four special education schools, two general education schools and volunteered at a wheel chair facility and resident rehabilitation center over a three-week span. Fressle is the secretary of Southern's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well.
 
"Joining the Council for Exceptional Children and serving as its president for a year was amazing," Fressle said. "The Hamden Transitional Academy is a special education transitional program for high school students with disabilities. They are an incredible group of people and the personal connections I have made with those students I won't forget. They were also the women's basketball team's biggest and loudest fans at our game against Saint Thomas Aquinas in December. They definitely make me feel that what I do is bigger than just basketball."
 
Fressle wanted to be a teacher since her pre-school graduation, when her project was "When I grow up I want to be a teacher". Fressle was then inspired by her elementary school teachers, particularly in second grade, who taught her "you can do anything you want in life, no matter how others label you." In second grade, Fressle was placed in a self-contained special education class due an inability to read at grade level.
 
She said the personal connections she makes with students is one of the best things about being a teacher. Because every student is different, every student requires different needs, and every student connects on a different level.
 
"It's amazing to see how a strong and positive student-to-teacher connection can help enhance their academic learning," Fressle said. "I think it's the key to being a great teacher."
 
Although Fressle's time in the classroom this year was cut short because of the pandemic, she said distance learning has taught her how to adapt to a sudden change and how to use technology in ways she had never used before. She notes that people in education should not stress about academics. 
 
"Don't take this time for granted, and make sure your kids or your students are mentally, emotionally and safely transitioning during this time," Fressle said. "It is just as important to play, paint, read, and watch movies as it is to be a good student. Find the balance and find light in this time of darkness."
 
Fressle has used her experience in her role in the classroom to help in her role as a captain which, in turn, has helped her as a teacher. Fressle has learned that everyone learns differently, which has helped her in her captain role.

"Basketball and teaching have become intertwined in my life," Fressle said. "Sometimes students or teammates need verbal instruction and other times they just need a leader to follow by example. So much of being an athlete prepares us for the real world. It is something we often take for granted but being a college athlete is one of the greatest privileges we can have."

Fressle feels her experience as a student at Southern Connecticut and from being a member of the women's basketball team has provided her with the knowledge and resources to excel as a teacher. This year, Fressle returned from an injury-shortened 2018-19 season to lead the Owls in total points, points per game, free throws made, free throw percentage, free throws made per game, three-point shooting percentage, rebounds and rebounds per game.

"My coaches have embedded the idea that no matter how many times we get knocked down, we always get back up," Fressle said. "Being on the women's basketball team for the past four years has taught me that adversity is a challenge made to be overcome. Right now, we are facing adversity in a way no way could even imagine, but with my team by my side I know I will come out stronger than ever."