When he was in high school, friends would often go to James Cullen for life advice. Nicknamed “James the Psychologist,” the Kewaunee native is now a senior psychology major at St. Norbert College.

Cullen is currently a student teacher here at NDA with Mr. Adam Rudar as his mentor. When he graduates SNC, Cullen hopes to live and work somewhere in the Fox Valley or Green Bay area.

“Education has always been in my background,” said Cullen, whose teaching certification will include a broad range of social study courses.

He told the journalism class that being a teacher had always been in the back of his mind, as a fallback. However, as he got older, he realized teaching others was something he was truly passionate about.

He likes psychology because it shows how the mind works and how your actions have an effect on others. He especially wants to work with kids because he loves seeing the “light-bulb moment,” when a concept is explained to a student and they suddenly understand.

As a student teacher he has observed all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into teaching, the importance of in-service days, the stress of a “go-go schedule” and a variety of unique teaching styles.

Cullen explained that Mr. Rudar told him to go around and see how all the different social studies teachers at NDA teach in their different classes. At the end of this, Cullen concluded his own style  of teaching is most similar to Mr. Rudar’s. 

The only concern he has about choosing teaching as his career is that the workload can get overwhelming with lesson plans, grading and extracurriculars. With a smile he also mentioned the low salary.

Cullen is also mistaken for a student by many teachers.  “Sometimes teachers have to do a double-take when seeing me pass by,”  he told the class.

A four-sport athlete in high school, Cullen is a member of the cross-country and track teams at SNC. He will be at NDA as a student teacher until Nov. 4.