Sacha Curry Warrior Scholarship

Who is the most important person in a child's life besides their parents? A teacher! A teacher is the one who gives a student the feeling of self worth or the feeling of being nothing. I learned this very young. My parents and grandparents were very active in my life growing up. I stayed with my grandparents often. My grandmother was my caregiver while both of my parents (both teachers) were working. My grandmother kept telling my mom that I had some learning disability, We tried to work through it, but it was such a struggle. When I started school, I was good in class, but when I came home after school, I was awful. Looking back I feel bad about how I treated my family. I couldn't help it. I was so tired from trying to be good all day that I was done when I came home. In third grade, my mom asked the school to test me for special education. I was reading, but it was below grade level, and math was such a struggle for me. I hated school and did not ever want to go. I was tested, but we was told nothing was wrong with me. I had some major sensory issues and everything was a battle all the time. By 6th grade it was the same issues, only I had moved to the public school with my mom, so she could help me and know what was going on. She requested testing again and was told I was just ADHD. I begged them not to put me on medicines because I had seen so many people become like zombies on it. They agreed if I kept my grades at passing and tried, I would not have to be on medicines. My mom still knew something wasn't right and even talked to the dyslexia teacher at my school, who told her I showed no signs of it. During this time, I had some great teachers who really helped me and worked with me, and I had several who told me I was stupid and would never be anybody. This year I had to move to the school my mom teaches, as we couldn't afford to keep paying for the private school my grandparents had helped send me to for high school. The first thing my mom did was ask them to test me for dyslexia. In December of 2023, I was finally tested for dyslexia and the results were definitely positive. They couldn't believe no one had ever listened to my family and had me tested. The dyslexia specialist told me she had never met anyone who had taught themselves to work with it this well. She was so complimentary of me. It was the first time in my life that I finally believed that I could and would be able to go to college and succeed. Teachers make all the difference in the world for a student. A teacher can be the blessing in a student's life or the one detriment in their life. A great teacher makes his students feel like they can achieve anything they choose. I want to be that teacher/coach who convinces students to work harder and smarter to achieve their dreams. I graduate in May, and on the list for my party, I have invited 2 of my most influential teachers who made me feel like I could take on the world, Mrs. Claudia Murtaugh and Mrs. Lynn Cook.