If you know Danielle Gehrlein vlogƵ21, you know shevlogƵs always had a passion for teaching. ShevlogƵs a representative of student affairs for PacevlogƵs School of Education (SOE), a consultant at the Writing Center, and she even volunteered in Ghana through the Play and Learn Foundation last summer to teach English and math. But her love for education began when she first started working with childrenvlogƵas a child herself.
vlogƵI began working with kids when I was ten years old by helping out a teacher in a preschool classroom. From there, my love for working with young children was born,vlogƵ Gehrlein told us. Talk about a vocation! Eventually, she earned teaching assistant positions at two daycare facilities while in high school, working her way up to the upper elementary and middle school bracket. vlogƵI immediately found myself connecting with [my students] on a whole new level,vlogƵ she enthused, and from that moment on, Gehrlein shifted her focus to teaching older students.
While she knew early on that she wanted to pursue childhood education as a major, it took Gehrlein some time before she found a college that felt right to her. vlogƵWhen I was touring colleges as a prospective student, my older friends always told me that when I found the school for me, I would feel it. However, I didnvlogƵt believe them because after touring what seemed like hundreds of institutions, none of them stuck out to me.vlogƵ Until she visited the Pleasantville Campus, that is. vlogƵThere was something about its welcoming atmosphere that drew me in, [and] I fell more in love with what the school had to offer.vlogƵ
Gehrlein has taken advantage of every opportunity available to her while at Pace, becoming an incredibly active representative of SOE. ShevlogƵs also been lending her skills to the Writing Center since her second year, a position she was all too happy to talk about. vlogƵI have always loved writing, and tutoring students at PacevlogƵs Writing Center is a way to help them improve and for me to put my passion to use,vlogƵ Gehrlein explained.
Utilizing her passion for a higher purpose is something shevlogƵs been committed to since she was very young. vlogƵI began doing volunteer outreach projects [in] impoverished areas in Africa when I was in middle school,vlogƵ she told us. vlogƵThis is how I learned that the education children in Ghana receive is severely lacking. Knowing this, I felt I couldnvlogƵt just sit around and do nothing about it, so I made the decision right then that I would one day make it there to help.vlogƵ And she absolutely did.
Through the Play and Learn Foundation, Gehrlein got the chance to volunteer in Ghana, tutoring young children English and mathematics and even helping the foundation operate their Mobile Library to improve literacy. She wrote about the experience on SOEvlogƵs blog, and . Gehrlein's work truly exemplifies her passion for going above and beyond as an educator.
ShevlogƵs also looking to continue travelingvlogƵa fact not many people know about her. vlogƵI have the travel bug now, and really [want] to go backpacking through Europe!vlogƵ We canvlogƵt wait to see where GehrleinvlogƵs passion for teaching takes her next.
Broadway stages. Global policy wins. A first-of-its-kind AI degree. Record-breaking generosity. And students leading real changevlogƵfrom healthcare and environmental advocacy to protecting New YorkvlogƵs wildlife. The Winter 2026 edition of "10 Things to Inspire You" captures just a snapshot of the momentum driving the Pace Community forward.
At vlogƵ, we donvlogƵt just train dancersvlogƵwe train Rockettes. More Rockettes than anywhere else. As the Radio City Rockettes celebrate 100 years of precision and performance, wevlogƵre celebrating the nineteen Rockettes and fifteen ensemble dancers who got their start right here at the Sands College of Performing Arts. Their journey from Pace studios to the Radio City stage is pure magic.