![\"Biberdorf](\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/04\/Biberdorf_2024.jpeg\")
Her speech will center on the idea that we all make a difference in the lives of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about how friends, family, teachers and professors have all shaped you,\u201d she said, \u201cand that now you can be that difference maker for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biberdorf has been at Tarleton State for six years, earning her bachelor\u2019s in mathematics and her teaching certification in 2022 before beginning work on her advanced degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She came from State College, Pa., where her family had settled. Both her mom and aunt previously lived in Texas, and both received degrees from Tarleton State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI took a gap year after high school,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I got ready to go to college, my family had all moved back to Texas. At that point, I thought, \u2018Well, we\u2019re going to Tarleton.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although State College is considerably larger than Stephenville, she saw similarities. \u201cThe people are very friendly in both places. They\u2019re both college towns, and the colleges are very important to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move to Texas did cause some angst. The rural atmosphere is much different than the Biberdorfs\u2019 urban life in Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was originally nervous to come to Tarleton,\u201d\u00a0Julia said. \u201cI was more used to a city environment. I didn\u2019t participate in FFA or anything like that, so having farm animals was crazy to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, she found her niche in the mathematics department and playing saxophone in the marching band, where she was a fixture for four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was truly one of my life\u2019s great experiences.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also took a job as a supplemental instructor and tutor, mostly in the mathematics department, where she developed friendships with fellow classmates and colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOverall, being a part of the Tarleton State community has been a great experience. Getting involved and becoming part of all the traditions was nice. I really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She plans to continue her work teaching at the junior high and high school level but has an eye on transitioning to college. Her experiences at Tarleton State have built up her confidence to consider that move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe quality of professors in my major was amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were very enthusiastic, and on top of that, the math classes gave me a strong foundation to teach my students, to connect with them.\u201dNow, she\u2019s paying it forward by educating the next generation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Julia Biberdorf believes in paying it forward. A seventh-grade math teacher at Henderson Junior High in Stephenville, she receives her master\u2019s in mathematics Saturday morning and will …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":50807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,423,425],"tags":[437],"class_list":["post-50805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-academics-research","category-campus-community","tag-college-of-education"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/04\/Biberdorf_2024-300x200.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Academics & Research<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Academics & Research<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["College of Education<\/a>"],"unlinked":["College of Education<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 9, 2024","modified":"Updated on August 15, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 9, 2024 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on August 15, 2024 5:38 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Graduate in cap and gown smiling in front of Tarleton State University sign.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}