From Stage to Classroom: How Pepperdine’s Online MAT Helped Mallery Pivot Her Career Without Pressing Pause on Life

Courses on supporting multilingual learners, understanding Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans, and using cultural diversity as a classroom strength have shaped how she teaches. "Pepperdine really emphasizes making students' differences a positive," Mallery says. "That's been a through-line in the coursework that I really appreciate."

Mallery has particularly fond memories of a literacy course that boosted her confidence for the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment® (RICA®), California's notoriously difficult literacy exam. "Literally everything on the test had been taught to us that month," she says. "All my studying came from class."

Moments of "I've got this"

If the coursework built her knowledge, her mentor teachers helped her step into her identity as a teacher. There was a moment during student teaching when her mentor trusted her to work independently with struggling readers and handle intervention instruction.

"That felt like a big deal," she says. "Gaining that familiarity in the classroom environment reassured me that this is what I'm meant to do."

Her current mentor has gone further: Mallery now runs parent-teacher conferences, collects student work throughout the semester, and walks through the flow of IEP meetings.

"Having those practical skills going into this job is going to be really helpful," Mallery says.

Looking ahead and encouraging others to take the leap

As her December 2025 graduation date approaches, Mallery hopes to step into a long-term substitute position in spring 2026, then a full-time classroom role next fall-ideally in second or third grade.

She sees how much her program choice will continue to matter.

"Pepperdine definitely carries its name well," Mallery says. "People are impressed when you tell them you're in Pepperdine's MAT program."

Her professors have offered recommendation letters, and they keep an eye out for openings. She knows she's not job searching alone.

While Mallery is looking forward to donning a graduation cap this month, she's quick to confirm she's not done learning.

"I consider myself a lifelong learner," she says. "Education changes fast. You need to stay on top of new curricula, laws, and strategies. I'm excited to be in a career that requires constant learning."

She encourages others to do the same. If you're someone considering a mid-career shift, especially if you're balancing work, caretaking, or life, Mallery's advice is simple: "Just go for it. This sounds cheesy, but the pieces will fall where they need to. You don't have to give up your life to change it."

For Mallery, that's the real power of online learning: she didn't have to start over-just build on the life she already loves.