Keri Sohlman Memorial Scholarship

Being one of the oldest cousins, sisters, and granddaughters, I’ve always felt a responsibility to care for and support my younger family members. During family gatherings, I generally engage in caring for infants and entertaining young children, allowing their parents to have some relaxation. Upon entering high school, I assumed the role of a cheer coach for kindergarten girls, and developed a passion for instructing them in cheers and appreciating the affection they showed me. My nurturing demeanor towards children led me to choose a career path at the age of 9 - I have always aspired to be a teacher. As a high school senior, I had the chance to participate in my school's Tomorrow's Teachers program, which involved observing and assisting an educator in my town's district. This was my chance to act and gain firsthand experience in becoming a teacher. Because I have had this passion for as long as I can remember, when asked what first inspired me, I have trouble coming up with an answer. It was not until this year that I could pinpoint who or what I truly aspire to be. I found genuine inspiration from my mentor, who is a second-grade teacher at the elementary school I used to go to. After spending a week with this woman, I aspired to replicate her in every way. I consistently admire her capacity to manage the room, distinguish between children, juggle various cross-curricular activities, command attention wherever she goes, and her general authoritative demeanor. Every day, I spend additional hours in the building grading papers, developing lesson plans, and generating ideas, absorbing as much information as possible. I am sitting in the classroom feeling astonished and eager about the idea of becoming a teacher like her. During these nine months, I consistently surpassed expectations due to my passion for my work. One day in early September, the school was evacuated and moved to a different location until the end of the school day due to a suspicious odor in the building. The K-2 teachers and I were placed in a small gymnasium facing complete chaos. Danielle enchanted the entire room with just the power of her voice. She entertained over 100 children by reading a story and engaging them in singing and dancing, effectively deflecting their attention from the unsure circumstances. At this precise moment, I realized I aspired to be like that. I aim to become a teacher who is capable of managing any situation effectively. I want to support my students during difficult times. I aim to develop customized lesson plans tailored to each of my children's unique learning styles to maximize their educational experience. My goal is to excel and reach the highest potential as an educator for my future students. I believe the world would benefit from more individuals like Danielle, and the most effective approach is to mirror her qualities as an educator. Upon graduating high school, I intend to apply the knowledge she has been consistently conveying to me and pursue a degree in elementary education at a college in New Jersey. My enthusiasm for becoming a teacher has evolved from simply desiring to be around children and manage a classroom, to now seeking to understand the various methods through which I can positively impact the lives of young minds. Witnessing the influence I, known as "Miss Bell," have on the second graders I interact with daily has proven to me that I am suitable for this job. My current impact on these children demonstrates the potential for influencing thousands more in the future.

When I was in elementary school, I started to develop serious mental health problems due to bullying. I was tormented due to my weight by my classmates, and I felt alone with no one to turn to. I decided I needed help and went to my school's guidance counselor. Although I was nervous, I knew that talking to someone would help. Talking to her instantly relieved me because she showed me so much kindness and gave me a safe space in her office. She gave me so much comfort after feeling isolated for so long. Over the years, we created a fantastic bond that I still remember and carry with me. In my junior year of high school, I developed severe anxiety that made me unable even to leave my house for two weeks. When this problem negatively affected my education, I contacted my guidance counselor for help. Like my elementary school guidance counselor, he provided me with a safe space and comfort. He calmed me during panic attacks and never let me slip through the crack, both educationally and mentally. Without him, I would not have been able to overcome my anxiety and complete my junior year. He went out of his way to check up on me to ensure that I was always moving in the right direction and pushing myself to heal; without the immense support from my guidance counselor, I would not be nearly as successful as I am today. These two people inspired me to put myself in the position to help students create the future they have dreamed of. I plan to become a guidance counselor because I want to support students who face issues similar to mine or any challenges they may face. Many students do not have the resources to have a therapist or don't have anyone at home they can trust. All students deserve someone to guide them through any challenges they face in their adolescence. The connections I created with my counselors improved my life, and I want to be there for those who may feel lost and alone as I did. Counselors are critical in guiding students, especially when they don't have a support system at home. Every successful person is who they are today because of their education that would not be as valuable without a guidance counselor to prevent them from slipping through the cracks. Guidance is the key to success and I want all students to be given the opportunity to follow their dreams no matter what obstacles they face along the way. A good guidance counselor can change a student's life for the better and put them on the right track for success. I plan to attend The college of New Jersey as a psychology major, then earn my masters in school counseling. With this education, I will dedicate my life to making sure every student is taken care of both academically and mentally, and will never feel hopeless forgotten.

After the suicide of my father when I was just ten years old, I was left wondering why? What made him feel this way? What had led up to this? Was there anything else I could have done? The older I got, the more I understood the background of it. I finally understood what he meant in his note. "I was unwell and unable to fix it." He was suffering mentally. When the pandemic hit, my mother seemed to always be in a panic. No matter the issue, she was straining herself over it and constantly faced fear. It was understandable because of the new virus, but she was getting worse even once things seemed to settle down with it. She had severe anxiety. Around the age of 16, I started to notice that my sister was acting differently. She stopped caring about the things she loved, was ready to up and leave college, and always seemed to be down in the gutter. She stopped eating and sleeping and was constantly worried about how others thought of her. She was depressed and suffering from anxiety. All three of these situations let me see what mental health can do to a person first-hand. I watched three people I loved slowly become someone they were not. It felt like I was watching them crumble in front of my eyes. All of this left me with one question, what can I do to help? When deciding what I wanted to do in my future and where I would take my life, I knew there was only one right answer. I felt these three circumstances were here to show me what I was meant to do with my life. I was here to help others who are suffering from mental health disorders. I was always eager to learn more about these things and have started to find little ways to show others that mental health matters. I would write about it in essays for English class, constantly tell my friends how they could improve their emotional hygiene, and try finding new ways to make myself approachable by empathizing with others when they came to me needing help. With the education I am pursuing in my future, I want to make an impact on other people. Whether it be one person or 1 million people, I want to be able to help. I plan to study psychology up to a doctorate level to understand this field better. I want to have the ability to make an impact like Freud and Watson. I want to know that I was able to let others understand that it is okay to feel how they do and that they have a purpose in life. I want to make a change. I also want to study forensic psychology to work with juveniles and help improve their lives. Everyone was put in this world with a purpose. Some are meant to be doctors, and others to be the next billionaire. I want to show everyone that they matter in this world and that they are essential. This world is constantly changing, in some ways better and others worse. I want to see a change for the better in the mental health rates throughout society. I want to be that change.

I am interested in art education because I thrive in chaos and mess, especially the kind that comes from a room full of children. I am an instructor at Glen Ridge Taekwon-do, where most of my time is spent teaching children aged four to six. I have been formally employed as an instructor for a bit over a year, but have been volunteering since I was nine. Further, I have run private lessons and built relationships with young girls, including the daughter of a black belt mom and master instructor dad. I volunteer as a coach at every tournament and encourage students at every promotion test. From a young age, I have been acting in the role of teacher and cheerleader and have learned just how wonderful children are. I am in awe of the joy and curiosity of children. I am inspired by the way they always want to know “why?” I am motivated by the excitement they have over the little things, things I often brush past. They remind me just how beautiful life is. However, I also understand how difficult teaching can be. Children aren’t happy all the time; sometimes, they need extra support and care. They don’t always behave and don’t always listen. Sometimes, there will be rough days. Even on those difficult days at the Taekwondo school, when students aren’t listening, when I am frustrated and tired, I still feel joyful. It is an honor to be the one to help kids learn and grow, especially on hard days. It is exciting to problem solve, coming up with new ways to teach that are more engaging. When students aren’t listening, it is often simply because they are under-stimulated and can't focus, so I create new ways to reach them. It’s exhilarating when I find a method that works, a method that turns those rough days into ones of learning and growth. I am interested in pursuing education because I love kids, on the good days and the bad. I am interested in art education because art turns the bad days to good. I know this from experience. Art is a form of education and activism. As someone with mental health struggles and ADHD, I want to be an advocate for people with similar conditions. Because of what I call my “funky” brain, my outlook on the world is often different than that of my peers. Where others walk, I run. Where others go slow, I go fast. My brain works at rapid speeds, coming up with millions of thoughts and ideas all at once, only to forget them seconds later. The worst part, though, is not these tendencies themselves, rather, it is the loneliness and isolation I have felt because of them. I thought that no one else had a “funky” brain like mine. However, in recent years I’ve discovered dozens of social media accounts run by people with ADHD who share their experiences with the public. In reading their posts, I feel less alone. As a future art teacher, my goal is to show students that they aren’t alone either. In order to make that dream a reality, I intend to get my degree in art education from The College of New Jersey. I will take full advantage of the school’s focus on hands-on learning and field experience because I cannot wait to be with the students. So, why do I want to be an art teacher? Because art education is the intersection of all my passions: art, working with children, and advocacy for people with “funky” brains like me.