About three years ago, Jin Stockton did a favor for a good friend. Her friend had a work event and asked Jin if she could accompany her children to the Mequon Jewish Preschool open house.
Jin agreed and spent a few hours at Mequon Jewish Preschool with the students and genuinely enjoyed her time there. But then she went home, chalked it up to a nice experience, and didn’t think much more of it. That is, until a few days later, when she received a phone call from Rivkie Spalter, the school’s director.
Spalter told her that she had seen something special in the way Stockton interacted with the children. She asked her to come in just to chat. Stockton had no intention of getting a job – she was perfectly happy being a homemaker. But somehow, she left that meeting with a verbal agreement to start working at Mequon Jewish Preschool that same week! Fast forward three years, and Stockton is still there. She never imagined herself working with children, but now she says it feels like exactly where she’s meant to be.
Stockton was born in South Korea and came to the U.S. as a high school exchange student – first in Michigan, then in Idaho. She went on to attend Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a degree in wildlife conservation and met her husband, James Stockton. They lived in Reno for eight years before settling in the Milwaukee suburbs about four years ago. Until she started at Mequon Jewish Preschool, Jin was a happy, full-time homemaker, raising her two sons.
For the past two years, Stockton worked in the infant room. This year, she’s “looping” with her class and teaching in the young toddler room, and she couldn’t be happier. “I love the connection that I build with each child,” she said. “I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of them discovering their potential.” A recent moment that stuck with her: “One of my students was having a rough day. When she saw me, she ran into my arms. That made my day!”
Mequon Jewish Preschool was also Stockton’s first introduction to Judaism, and Stockton said she has enjoyed the learning. “To me, Judaism is not just words – it’s action,” she said. “The Jewish community here is so accepting. I practice a different religion, but everyone here makes me feel like I belong.”
Stockton said mentors at the school “taught me to see children as capable human beings.” Stockton described how teaching in her own culture was more direct, but Mequon Jewish Preschool has shown her a new path: “In my culture we are taught to guide and teach in certain specific ways. Here, we give children opportunities. We nudge them, but the goal is to give them the strength to go their own way.” She added, “I didn’t know I had such a passion for learning until I arrived here. Being at MJP ignited that desire!”
Stockton now lives in Mequon with her husband, James, their two sons, Reggie, 11, and Sully, 9, and their two dogs. She says she loves living in Mequon and never wants to leave! She’s grateful for the opportunity to study abroad in the U.S., sharing that it allowed her to fully become who she is today. As a family, the Stocktons enjoy trying new restaurants and spending time together in nearby Cedarburg.
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MEET AN EDUCATOR
Writer Nicole Boico is the associate director of the Coalition for Jewish Learning of Milwaukee Jewish Federation. This regular feature, from the Coalition for Jewish Learning, is to celebrate local educators. To suggest someone for coverage, contact Boico at NicoleB@MilwaukeeJewish.org.
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