Mickey Hamilton Memorial Scholarship

From a young age, I knew I wanted to work with children. There is something incredibly special about watching them learn, grow, and develop confidence in themselves. My passion for teaching comes from the love and joy I feel when helping a child overcome a challenge or understand something new. Currently, I work in childcare at KinderCare, where I get to experience these moments every day. The relationships I build with the children and the impact I have on their early development reaffirm my decision to become a teacher. I want to create a classroom where students feel valued, heard, and supported in their learning journeys. Beyond my passion for education, my experiences in athletics have played a huge role in shaping who I am. Softball was a central part of my life from first grade through 11th grade, both in school and on travel teams. It was more than just a sport to me. It was my identity, my outlet, and my greatest challenge. However, my journey in softball was filled with adversity. I endured two ACL reconstructions and three meniscus repairs, forcing me to miss crucial seasons and constantly battle my way back. It always felt like I was playing catch up, struggling to prove that I still belonged on the field despite my setbacks. After my fifth knee surgery, I had no choice but to walk away from the sport I loved. It was devastating to let go of something that had been such a huge part of my life, but in doing so, I learned some of my most important lessons. Softball taught me perseverance, resilience, and most importantly, patience. I learned that setbacks do not define me, how I respond to them does. These lessons will carry over into my career as a teacher. I want to be the kind of educator who listens to students, validates their hardships, and encourages them to push forward, just as I had to in my own journey. One teacher who had a profound impact on me was my freshman year history teacher, Ms. McPherson. She was more than just a teacher, she was a safe person, someone I knew I could trust. She listened to me, supported me, and treated me as an equal. She never dismissed my struggles but instead helped me navigate them. Her kindness and unwavering belief in me made a lasting impression, and she is a major reason why I want to become a teacher. I want to be that person for my future students. I want to be someone who listens, supports, and believes in them, no matter what challenges they face. My experiences in education and athletics have shaped me into the person I am today. Through softball, I learned the value of resilience and determination. Through Ms. McPherson, I learned the power of a teacher’s influence. And through my work in childcare, I have confirmed my love for working with children. I am excited to take everything I have learned and apply it to my future classroom, where I hope to inspire, support, and uplift my students the same way my teachers and coaches did for me.

Why do I want to be a teacher? I believe that teachers are one of the only job opportunities where you can shape the foundation for a single kid or for the generation as a whole. You can ask anyone in this world who their most influential teacher was and they would have an answer immediately. I want to be that teacher to students, I want kids to remember me, whether that is as Mr. T, Mr. Filpansick, or even just Travis Filpansick, I want them to remember me as someone that supported their dreams and aspirations. Ever since I have been thinking about my future career, I have always thought about teaching. Everyone in my family has always said I would make an amazing teacher to any school that would give me an opportunity, and if I was given that opportunity I would make the most out of it and I would do my very best to not disappoint. Throughout my life I have had many people that have influenced my decision to become a teacher. Mr. Thompson from Clio has most definitely been my biggest influencer. He is one of those teachers that people still talk about after they have graduated. You can just tell he has made a long lasting impression on any kid that has stepped foot in his classroom. The day I get compared to Mr. Thompson or I hear comments like I hear about him, I have accomplished my goal in teaching. Another one of my biggest influencers has been Brad Moore, Clio's head baseball coach. During my freshman season Brad was an assistant coach and didn't have a lot of say under our previous head coach. Our previous coach only saw me as a pitcher and only wanted me to pitch and pushed me past my limits. But, Brad always had a vision with me and always believed in me being a big player on both sides of the ball. Brad showed me what it looked like to have hope in a kid, student, and even a player. Brad gave me hope and now I am committed to Delta to go play baseball because of Brad. So, being a teacher is not just a job to me, it is a priority. I want to be that force in students' lives that changes their life for the better. Because of my influencers, I will be the best teacher I could possibly be to my future students. With that being said, I will invest everything I have just to hear “Mr. Filpansick” come out of a student's mouth.

Ever since I was younger, I have loved playing and hanging out with kids. This meant either chasing me and trying to tackle me or talking with them and hearing what they had to say. Growing up at Camp Barakel, I was able to help my siblings babysit other families living at camp. My Mom and Dad have always said that I had a talent with kids, and I never thought much of it. Then, my junior year came around, and I was able to spend just about 20 minutes in the kindergarten classroom helping some of the kids with their schoolwork. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and left thinking maybe that this could be for me. Throughout the year, I felt God put on my heart that this was the direction he wanted for me. Now, in my senior year, I have been able to take Career Technical Education classes through Ferris State University to become a teacher. A part of that is being a teacher cadet in the 3rd-grade room and currently the 4th-grade classroom. I have loved being in the classroom with the students and working with them while building a relationship with many of them. While I have spent time in these classrooms I have been able to gain a perspective of what teaching looks like. For example, seeing things that I would want to implement in my classroom one day. Both teachers I have worked with have given me advice and I am forever grateful for it. They were able to talk about why they became a teacher and things that motivate them to be a lifelong learner. I want to become a teacher because I love working with kids and helping others. Living and working at Camp Barakel, our family has enjoyed this aspect of ministry. All of my siblings chose to work here in high school and after graduation, as they desired to serve the Lord by providing a fun and safe place for kids to be away from home for the week, playing and learning new skills. Their example continues to have an impact on me and I am excited for this upcoming summer to be able to serve at Barakel myself. As I am the youngest of 7 kids, and not only did my siblings demonstrate to me how to interact with younger kids, I observed them as summer staff leading groups of kids on their own. As I have had an "up-close" view of young adults working with kids for many summers now, I am excited to use my gifts and talents working with kids here at Camp Barakel as well as in the classroom. I believe that I have a gift with kids and a strong desire to help them succeed. I strongly think God gave me this ability to help children learn and to be an example of Christ to them with love, joy, kindness, faithfulness, and gentleness. Being awarded this scholarship will be a great help for my family in paying for an education that will help prepare me to step into the classroom with stronger skills and knowledge to serve a variety of students and their families. With this scholarship, it will help me become a teacher to help the future generation succeed. Every kid has their own set of abilities and challenges. I would like to help them harness their potential in the way that I teach. I want to be someone that kids can look up to.

Teaching is something that has captured my interest throughout my high school career as I have discovered what I enjoy and what my passions are. I have learned that I love teaching younger children, from kindergarten through mid-elementary years. These are such formative times in a child's development, as they are not only learning math and reading but also social cues and how to correctly behave outside of their homes. I love seeing the moment when a child finally understands something that they have been struggling to learn and watch as they learn how to form friendships. I also find it extremely rewarding to be able to form bonds with children as I teach them and also learn from them. Children value and trust those who show up for them day after day, and as a teacher, I would be able to form this kind of relationship with them. My family has had the strongest influence on my decision to become a teacher. I come from a family of educators, with all of my grandparents being involved in teaching and administration of some form. I saw how much they truly loved their jobs and the impact that they had on the kids they taught, and this is what first started my interest in teaching. For the past year, I have worked at a daycare, which has given me firsthand experience of the impact that teachers can have directly on children’s lives. Each child is unique in their learning style, and I have loved getting the opportunity to discover what each child’s is and helping them grow and develop in that particular way. Having this experience has only cemented my desire to become a teacher and have this kind of positive impact on many other children who would cross through my classroom. I have run cross country through all four years of high school, and I have learned how much I enjoy being part of a team. The bonds I have formed with my teammates will last a lifetime, because we have learned the importance of hard work and perseverance no matter what. Cross country has a generally positive environment, which has also shown me the importance of surrounding myself with people who will lift me and encourage each other. Being able to form relationships with people over the work and energy that we each invested into the sport and ourselves showed me the kinds of bonds that can be formed when we all persevere together. I valued every year of being able to run cross country, and the lessons of strength as a team and positivity are something that I will continue to apply throughout my life.