Brown is finding fulfillment in a career change through the Master of Arts in Teaching’s flexible online program
Teaching as a second career can be both purposeful and practical, and Belmont University’s fully online Master of Arts in Teaching program is designed to help professionals make that transition with flexibility and support. Daniel Brown’s experience reflects the possibilities available to students pursuing a new path into education.
Education That Fits Real Life
Brown transitioned from a customer accounts role at a leading tech-for-good company into teaching through the student teaching pathway in Belmont’s MAT program. The career shift allowed him to align his work with his passion for education and community service.
“From my very first interaction with the admissions team, I could tell I would be working with passionate individuals who genuinely wanted to help me succeed,” he said. “My admissions coordinator thoughtfully answered my questions, walked me through the application process and advocated for my immediate start. That level of personal support made a lasting impression and reinforced my confidence that Belmont was the right place for me.”
The MAT’s fully online structure allows the program to be highly flexible — a crucial component for Brown, who is a father of two.
“Having the flexibility to learn on my own schedule has allowed me to fully commit to the program without sacrificing the time I needed with my family,” he shared. “Plus, the program structure allowed me to step into the classroom right away — first as a literacy tutor with a role the Belmont staff helped facilitate, and now as a full-time Classroom Associate at a Metro Nashville School while I complete my degree.”
The program offers four pathways — student teaching, residency, internship and job-embedded — allowing students to choose the option that best aligns with their experience level, goals and schedule. For Brown, the student teaching pathway has provided valuable hands-on experience as he explores the many facets of education and develops confidence in the classroom.
As an elementary school classroom associate supporting teachers across multiple grade levels, Brown’s day-to-day responsibilities can look different each day. Some days he might lead class curriculum, and other days he might support personal learning or assist students in special education classrooms with their daily learning goals.
“It has given me the opportunity to work with multiple grade levels, learn how to navigate different classroom environments and develop my own teaching style while gaining a clearer sense of which grade levels I feel most drawn to.”
Bringing Coursework to Life
One of the most rewarding aspects of the experience has been the ability to apply what I’m learning right away. Whether it’s strategies for classroom management or best practices for teaching foundational literacy, I can study these concepts, review the Metro Nashville Public Schools curriculum through my Belmont coursework and then walk into the classroom the very next day and put those ideas into practice.”
Building Classroom Experience Through Faculty Support
Through faculty mentorship and hands-on experience, students are prepared for teacher licensure and long-term success in the classroom.
“The faculty and staff at Belmont University have supported me throughout every step of my journey in the MAT program and played a vital role in helping launch my career in the classroom,” he said.
When he first entered the program, Brown didn’t have any real connections within Metro Nashville Public Schools — that quickly changed. His academic advisor, Dr. Annie Insana, helped facilitate a literacy tutoring role for him own through the Boys & Girls Clubs of America at an elementary school in Antioch, Tennessee.
Insana also helped place him in a school near his home for a weekly observation session in a first-grade classroom to watch and learn the curriculum and teaching strategies in real time.
“That opportunity to gain real-world experience, work directly with students and begin developing my teaching skills while simultaneously learning best practices and pedagogical approaches in my coursework made an immediate impact,” he said. “It brought everything I was studying to life and helped me see how the theory and practice of teaching come together in a real classroom.”
From flexible online learning and faculty mentorship to hands-on classroom experience and professional licensure preparation, Brown’s story is a real-time example of Belmont’s MAT program at work in the lives of professional career changers.
"Choosing this program has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my career, giving me both the confidence and the tools to step into the classroom prepared to succeed.”
Find your path in Belmont's Master of Arts in Teaching.