Photo Courtesy Of: Kara Durren
Kara Durren went to Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) here in Harrisonburg and it was everything but predictable. Durren originally planned to do pre-dental but once she looked at her motivations for the career she then started to rethink her decisions. Durren soon came to the conclusion that she was only wanting to go into the dental industry for the money and not the passion.
“I realized I would much rather enjoy what I do every day than make a lot of money,” said Durren.
It was then that Durren turned to her true passion, history. To pave herself a new path she decided to go with a history major. Though as she navigated this new career path she was still unsure how she was going to use her newfound major. One day she had talked to her advisor and they recommended that Durren should go into teaching.
“So I picked up the history major, and then I was trying to decide what to do with that, and one of my advisors recommended teaching, which I had never considered, ever. But EMU is really great about getting you in a classroom. So in my first education class, I was placed in a high school classroom in a practicum spot. And I did actually really enjoy helping students and realize that I did want to teach history,” Durren said.
Durren doesn’t just want her students to know history but she also wants them to feel empowered and help empower others. She’s deeply committed to empowering her students, especially when it comes to standing up for what’s right. Durren believes in advocating for her students, especially when she feels they’ve been wronged.
“I empower students to stand up for what is right,” Durren said. “I think I model that in a way that I’m willing to advocate for my students if I think they are being wronged in the school in any way. I’m not afraid to reach out to the person that I feel like has wronged them or to those who can help them, and facilitate a restorative practice around that,” said Durren
Though Durren has a strong passion for History and teaching is a big part of her professional life, she is also a traveler with a passion for seeing and exploring new places. Her travel experiences span several countries across Europe, North America, and beyond. Durren has ventured to Canada, the Bahamas, Iceland, England, France, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Austria, and Romania, accumulating a wealth of stories from her adventures enough to fill a textbook.
“Something that I always take away is before you go travel to a small town that you are not familiar with, make sure that you understand how the mafia works in our country, because I did not, and I got into, like, a sticky situation in a small town in Bulgaria that was a mafia led town. But I’m here to tell the tale, so it was fine, yeah, always check the time trains leave. That’s been a lot of issues,” said Durren.
Durren is adventurous in her profession and with her passion for traveling the globe as she has been to 11 countries. She has a great passion for not just teaching history but also for her student’s ability to succeed and advocate for themselves, others, and for what’s right.
