Dana Raasch Explains Why
When Dana (Pietrzyk) Raasch graduated from Martin Luther College with her bachelor’s degree in 2021, it didn’t take her long to realize that the best time to pursue a master’s degree was immediately. So after just one year in front of the classroom, she became a student again—in MLC’s graduate program.
Why So Soon?
One reason is that she missed school. “I’ve always liked to learn and be in school. After my first year of teaching, I felt like I was missing the challenge that school gives. So, I decided that my master’s degree was the next step in my education.”
Another reason is that MLC had precisely the degree she was looking for. She had found her vocation during her undergraduate study: working with the little ones in early childhood education. And she knew that not only did she want to teach them, but she also would love to administrate the program. “Preschoolers are the greatest!” she says. “I would love to become an early childhood director someday!” MLC’s Master of Science in Educational Administration with an Early Childhood Director emphasis fit the bill perfectly.
Yet another reason she began so quickly is the season of life she’s in right now. As the wife of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary student Caleb Raasch, she’s living her life in short chapters. Each year is a new adventure. While Caleb finished his first two years at the seminary, she taught grades 1-2 and then 3K at Christ Alone in Thiensville, Wisconsin. This year, while Caleb is the vicar at Beautiful Savior in Green Bay, Wisconsin, she is serving as a teacher’s assistant at St. Mark in Green Bay and also putting in some shifts at a local Kwik Trip. Next year, Caleb will be back at the sem, and she may again have a teaching call to consider.
This transitional time, before she and Caleb have set down roots, and before they’ve started a family, turned out to be a great time to complete a graduate degree.
MLC Was the Best Choice
Once Dana made her decision to pursue the degree, she knew she had options. Many colleges offer online programs, but MLC quickly rose to the top.
“First and foremost,” she says, “I knew I would be learning from Christian teachers. Secondly, Dr. Meyer gave an awesome presentation at the end of my senior year at MLC on why continuing education is important. He provided us with information about the program, which made me interested in what MLC could offer for a graduate degree. Finally, MLC is affordable for a graduate degree. I wanted to go back to school but didn’t want to have to go into debt to do so. MLC offered prices that could allow me to do that.”
One special incentive Dana seized is MLC’s 10% tuition discount. This is available to anyone who enrolls within two years of their graduation, and it applies to every course in the program, even if the participant takes several years to finish.
Exceeding Expectations
Dana is quick to say that the courses have been excellent. “The program has exceeded my expectations,” she says. “All of my teachers are extremely knowledgeable in their fields and have provided me with insights that I would not have expected. I’ve really enjoyed exploring early childhood education from the viewpoint of being a director. I’ve also enjoyed the continuity of classmates within the program. There are lots of teachers I’ve gotten to meet and have classes with—some from across the world! They’ve been a huge blessing to my time in the program. I am definitely learning as much as I hoped. I would say even more.”
Specific to her goal of directing an early childhood ministry, she valued her bachelor’s degree but knew she had more to explore.
“I wanted to learn more about child development and planning out a curriculum for a whole childcare center,” she said. “Overall, I wanted to learn more than what I had learned as an undergrad.”
She also wanted to grow in her leadership skills. “Prior to starting my master’s degree, I knew what good leadership looked like and what I thought the definition of it was,” she said. “However, I wanted to learn more about my style of leadership, how to motivate a team of teachers, and how to lead lots of different types of people.”
Gaining Experience Vicariously
Learning from other teachers—while still so early in her own teaching career—has also been a huge blessing. Dana is building her proficiency on their experience, gleaning lessons from their ups and downs, absorbing the wisdom of their long ministries while hers is still short. In her words, “It allowed me to compare my new experiences in the classroom to teachers who have been teaching longer than I have. I have gotten to meet lots of other teachers with much more experience than I have and have gotten to learn from them about new ideas, their idea of best practices, and how to manage unexpected situations with students and their families. It’s another way to network with teachers who have more experience than I do.”
Two classes have especially impacted her. School Business Administration challenged her to think about aspects of education she hadn’t considered before: marketing and fundraising. And Legal and Ethical Issues in Early Childhood introduced her to the world of regulation for ECE and to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of Ethics. Once again, she absorbed the wisdom of others more experienced than she as the course challenged her to think through complicated scenarios and decide what the most ethical choice would be.
Just Do It!
To those considering pursuing a master’s degree at MLC—including those who are just starting in their ministries—Dana says,
“Just pursue it! It has been one of the biggest blessings to me both personally and professionally. I’ve grown professionally in my understanding of the inner workings of a school. I also have learned quite a bit about communicating with families, with potential donors to the school, and with a team of teachers. I’ve learned about my style of leadership and how it might affect those whom I am leading. Personally, I feel much more confident in my abilities both as a student and as a teacher.”
It all takes time, of course, and Dana understands the concern about a time crunch. Teachers’ schedules are busy. But the time, she said, is well worth it. “I know that time can be a big factor in someone that is thinking about pursuing a master’s degree. However, the time spent doing classwork is not wasted. Many things that are talked about in class can be immediately implemented within your own classroom. Also, the professors understand that you are a teacher with a full-time position and many responsibilities, so they are extremely understanding when it comes to the timing of things. I never felt like I was overwhelmed by schoolwork when I was teaching full-time, coaching track, and managing my time at home.”
The End’s in Sight
It wasn’t that long ago that Dana turned the tassel and received her bachelor’s degree. Today she can already picture her second diploma from Martin Luther College. She has just three courses and a thesis left, which means she will graduate in May 2025—the same time, God willing, that her husband will graduate from the seminary and accept his first assignment.
It’s going to feel great to have that master’s degree, and—more important—to have all that expertise while she’s still quite young. Getting her graduate degree right away is a decision Dana will never regret.
About Dana (Pietrzyk) Raasch
Dana and her husband, Caleb, moved to Green Bay in August and have enjoyed exploring the area. They’ll move back to Mequon for Caleb’s last year at the seminary this summer.
Dana loves photography, weightlifting, running, learning both Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, writing piano music for church, and finding local coffee shops. She especially loves hiking and visiting national parks and the highest point in each state. So far, she’s visited 15/63 national parks and 9/50 state high points, with more to be visited in the spring.
She and Caleb consider themselves urban homesteaders. “We grow or source a lot of our food locally. We also have our own rabbits for meat. Last year, we had quail in our apartment, but they did not come with us to Green Bay. Some of my favorite things that I get to do are baking bread and making my own kombucha.”
