Jamie Lynn Haralson barely has time to celebrate earning her bachelor's degree from Lewis-Clark State College on Friday.

She's already gearing up for her next challenge: a new job teaching sixth-graders at River City Middle School in Post Falls.

"I feel very fortunate," Haralson said. "It's a little surreal. It hasn't really sunk in yet."

It has been a whirlwind nine months for Haralson, who completed her teaching internship at Ponderosa Elementary School this week. She credits LCSC's Pathways for Accelerated Certification and Endorsement program as one of the keys to her success.

"There's a lot of interaction with the students during the learning process," Haralson said. "You put what you've learned into practice. Then you go back into the classroom and reflect on it and how to improve upon it. When the light goes on - it's huge for both the teacher and the student."

Haralson, a nontraditional student, balanced getting her education while raising her children with her husband in Post Falls. One of the reasons she picked LCSC was that the courses during the fall and spring semesters are delivered online - a key difference from traditional education programs.

"After I finished my three years in the Army, I wanted to become a teacher," Haralson said. "I went to North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College. The accelerated program appealed to me because I wanted to start teaching as soon as possible."

A group of Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene PACE program graduates won't be spending the holidays scouring job search engines looking for work. Already four of the 22 students completing their internships in December have found teaching jobs.

"It is synonymous with quality," said Kathy Baker, a principal at Ponderosa Elementary School. "As an administrator for nine years, I have had the opportunity to work with numerous teacher education programs. PACE students are characterized by a passion for learning, a drive to excel, and quality experiences with children."

Melinda Butler, the Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene Region 1 Coordinator for Elementary/Secondary Education Faculty, described the PACE program as "vigorous" and said it requires a lot of commitment. The two-year program moves from online to live during the summers.

"The students really have to sacrifice a lot because they give up their summers," Butler said. "The summer sessions are very intense, but they're learning the cutting edge teaching methods from the professionals already in the field."

Michelle Madsen, a second-year kindergarten teacher at Sorensen Elementary School, graduated from Lewis-Clark State College PACE program. She credits the nontraditional experience in helping her meet the rigors of dealing with rambunctious five-year olds.

Another one of the program's top students, Elissa Nass, is graduating this week as well, Butler said. Nass, 27, interned at Twin Lakes Elementary School and Garwood Elementary School said she chose LCSC's education program because of its accelerated format.

"It's very intense, completing 20 credits in eight weeks is a little insane," Nass said.

Marc Stewart is public information coordinator, Coeur d'Alene and Region 1 Lewis-Clark State College.