Growing up, I never felt like I was accepted amongst my own family. Nothing I ever did was good enough for people such as my father, or my grandparents. It was so bad at one point, that my family even became physical with me to express their frustrations with what they considered under achievement on my part. This is something that I, and man other children across the nation had to deal with nationwide, and something that should cease to exist. Luckily I was able to escape that trauma with the help of my mother, and turn my life around into something that I'm tremendously proud of. Unfortunately, I was one of the lucky ones, as there are still hundreds of thousands of children nationwide who suffer from the affects of early childhood developmental trauma and will continue to live with that for the rest of their lives. Developmental trauma is a very heartbreaking, and incredibly sensitive topic that impacts children not just in America, but globally. Trauma has many consequences that display in the children who suffer from it as well. For example, it can lead to academic issues, social issues, and behavioral issues for children who are affected. To break that down, developmental trauma can lead to comprehensive issues for children in a school setting. Kids who suffer from it are statistically far less attentive, have issues tackling harder subjects, and even can struggle with attendance issues. Furthermore, developmental trauma impacts a child's ability to engage with social situations as well, making it harder for those kids to make friends and develop relationships. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the trauma leads to many behavioral issues, such as elevated anger, stress, anxiety, and depression for those affected. Knowing what I know about the topic because of my own personal experience, I plan to work with the Oregon Department of Human Services and child welfare. My hopes in doing this are to end this developmental trauma for young children as much as I can, knowing that it will better their lives in a really positive way. My hope is to work with a team to combat these issues, and thus better our society and make a real impact on the lives of children. By doing this, I fully believe that it will give those children a better chance at success, and create opportunity where it didn't exist prior. Nobody deserves to live the life that I had to live throughout my early childhood, and I plan to make sure nobody has to.

Education was always something that came as a struggle to a guy like me. At an early age, it was clear to pediatricians that I had a very low attention span. For me, the thought of school, sitting down, and trying to learn about subjects I had almost no interest in was incredibly daunting, to the point where it caused many existential crises about my future. Unfortunately for me, this problem would continue to consume my emotional well being well throughout high school. My anxiety got so bad to the point where I was seriously considering dropping out of school, applying for a trade, and working blue collar for the rest of my life. Until one day when something very peculiar happened. For the first time ever, while sitting in my AP European History class, I suddenly began to find myself following along, enjoying what my teacher, a burly man named Mario Peri, was lecturing about. I had never been a bad student in school, always passing my classes with high marks, but I never found myself feeling a sense of enjoyment, until Mario Peri turned my world upside down. The way he spoke, the way he expressed himself, using not just his voice, but his whole body to convey the passion behind his thoughts, desperately trying to show each and every student in that room how important the content was. As the weeks grew, he began to make more and more of an impression on me, showing me how beautiful being an educator can be, how much pride it fills you when you watch someone you mentored succeed. My enjoyment for school began to increase due to Mr. Peri's impact as well. I was attending my classes more regularly, engaging in the content, and participating when questions were asked. At the time I didn't notice it, but now I realize I have Mario Peri to thank for my newfound passion in the education system, and I will forever be grateful for his impact. Unfortunately, in November of last year, Mario Peri passed away due to cancer that he had been fighting for months. The news of his death took a great toll on me, as well as entirety of my high school community. I was broken hearted, angry, and in mourning for the man that had changed my life for the better. I didn't know what to do, or how to react to the news. Everyday since then, I've devoted myself to working hard and obtaining not just a bachelors degree in Secondary Education, but a masters, all in a hopes to become even half the man that Mario Peri was.

My goal is to be a person that can inspire the future students of America. Someone who can share with them accurate history with as minimal bias as possible and allow students to form their own opinions and ideas. I want my future classroom to be a safe space for discussion of all topics even outside of history (if you couldn't tell, I'd like to be a history teacher) where people feel they can come to me for help and support in any way possible. I also want to prepare them for life ahead of schooling, helping them find out what they want to do when it comes to being an adult.

What's most interesting about the community that I grew up in, was that it was more than just one. Coming from Birmingham, Alabama led me to develop a very specific mindset than that of my Oregon community. I dressed differently, spoke differently, treated people differently, and even ate and drank different things. Once I moved to Oregon in the second grade, I immediately began to adapt to a new way of living. I grew out of my redneck southern accent, I changed my morals and beliefs to align more with my own personal Identity, and truly began to be impacted by my community. It was a most prevalent during my junior year of high school. It was my first day of my junior year. I walked into Erick Whitbeck’s AP US History class completely terrified as it was my first AP class, and a challenging one at that. The first week all he did was describe the course. My fears were not reduced in the slightest as it became apparent that we would be cover material at lightning speed, continually working. I wanted to give up and drop the course like half of those registered had already done. I wanted to quit, or at least find an easier option. But instead, I decided to stroll into the classroom and have a one-on-one conversation with the man who would change the path of my whole year, maybe my whole future. Looking back on that first conversation with Mr. Whitbeck I realize that the more we talked, the more my fears finally diminished. He explained to me that the first week was meant to reduce the size of the class, sorting out from the masses those who were really meant to be there. Some people were meant to drop that class, it was the right choice for them. I stayed, and it was the experience of a lifetime. During the next nine months, I grew closer to Mr. Whitbeck. I came to respect and to admire him, but I also came to realize that his passion for the subject matter was slowly but surely becoming my own. I have always enjoyed United States History, as it was taught to me from a very early age. I have fond memories of long discussions about World War II with my uncle on family vacations and of trips to museums and historical sites. Mr. Whitbeck gave the subject new life. I was looking at the same events, but with an entirely different perspective. It was fascinating. The classroom discussions and essays challenged me tremendously, but I responded to the challenge. I was genuinely proud of the work I was not only doing but enjoying. This new academic challenge was coming at just the right time in my life. An injured athlete post knee surgery, I was benched for months. Confined by braces and crutches, I needed a new arena to challenge myself. Mr. Whitbeck’s class delivered. My final paper was meant to be the culmination of all I had learned, not just about history itself but how to think, how to explore history and share it with others. I had almost complete freedom on the topic and chose the opportunity to combine two things I loved, history and sports. After my year with Mr. Whitbeck, I knew just how to approach that topic, and whatever comes next. I also knew without a doubt that I wanted my future to include the opportunity to pass this experience on to other students in the future.

It was my first day of my junior year. I walked into Erick Whitbeck’s AP US History class completely terrified as it was my first AP class, and a challenging one at that. The first week all he did was describe the course. My fears were not reduced in the slightest as it became apparent that we would be cover material at lightning speed, continually working. I wanted to give up and drop the course like half of those registered had already done. I wanted to quit, or at least find an easier option. But instead, I decided to stroll into the classroom and have a one-on-one conversation with the man who would change the path of my whole year, maybe my whole future. Looking back on that first conversation with Mr. Whitbeck I realize that the more we talked, the more my fears finally diminished. He explained to me that the first week was meant to reduce the size of the class, sorting out from the masses those who were really meant to be there. Some people were meant to drop that class, it was the right choice for them. I stayed, and it was the experience of a lifetime. During the next nine months, I grew closer to Mr. Whitbeck. I came to respect and to admire him, but I also came to realize that his passion for the subject matter was slowly but surely becoming my own. I have always enjoyed United States History, as it was taught to me from a very early age. I have fond memories of long discussions about World War II with my uncle on family vacations and of trips to museums and historical sites. Mr. Whitbeck gave the subject new life. I was looking at the same events, but with an entirely different perspective. It was fascinating. The classroom discussions and essays challenged me tremendously, but I responded to the challenge. I was genuinely proud of the work I was not only doing but enjoying. This new academic challenge was coming at just the right time in my life. An injured athlete post knee surgery, I was benched for months. Confined by braces and crutches, I needed a new arena to challenge myself. Mr. Whitbeck’s class delivered. My final paper was meant to be the culmination of all I had learned, not just about history itself but how to think, how to explore history and share it with others. I had almost complete freedom on the topic and chose the opportunity to combine two things I loved, history and sports. I wrote a history of the impact of a legendary coach on college football. After my year with Mr. Whitbeck, I knew just how to approach that topic, and whatever comes next. I also knew without a doubt that I wanted my future to include the opportunity to pass this experience on to other students in the future. I’m proud to start my college education next year in pursuit of a degree in secondary education.

It was my first day of my junior year. I walked into Erick Whitbeck’s AP US History class completely terrified as it was my first AP class, and a challenging one at that. The first week all he did was describe the course. My fears were not reduced in the slightest as it became apparent that we would be cover material at lightning speed, continually working. I wanted to give up and drop the course like half of those registered had already done. I wanted to quit, or at least find an easier option. But instead, I decided to stroll into the classroom and have a one-on-one conversation with the man who would change the path of my whole year, maybe my whole future. Looking back on that first conversation with Mr. Whitbeck I realize that the more we talked, the more my fears finally diminished. He explained to me that the first week was meant to reduce the size of the class, sorting out from the masses those who were really meant to be there. Some people were meant to drop that class, it was the right choice for them. I stayed, and it was the experience of a lifetime. During the next nine months, I grew closer to Mr. Whitbeck. I came to respect and to admire him, but I also came to realize that his passion for the subject matter was slowly but surely becoming my own. I have always enjoyed United States History, as it was taught to me from a very early age. I have fond memories of long discussions about World War II with my uncle on family vacations and of trips to museums and historical sites. Mr. Whitbeck gave the subject new life. I was looking at the same events, but with an entirely different perspective. It was fascinating. The classroom discussions and essays challenged me tremendously, but I responded to the challenge. I was genuinely proud of the work I was not only doing but enjoying. This new academic challenge was coming at just the right time in my life. An injured athlete post knee surgery, I was benched for months. Confined by braces and crutches, I needed a new arena to challenge myself. Mr. Whitbeck’s class delivered. My final paper was meant to be the culmination of all I had learned, not just about history itself but how to think, how to explore history and share it with others. I had almost complete freedom on the topic and chose the opportunity to combine two things I loved, history and sports. I wrote a history of the impact of a legendary coach on college football. After my year with Mr. Whitbeck, I knew just how to approach that topic, and whatever comes next. I also knew without a doubt that I wanted my future to include the opportunity to pass this experience on to other students in the future. I’m proud to start my college education next year in pursuit of a degree in secondary education.

It was my first day of my junior year. I walked into Erick Whitbeck’s AP US History class completely terrified as it was my first AP class, and a challenging one at that. The first week all he did was describe the course. My fears were not reduced in the slightest as it became apparent that we would be cover material at lightning speed, continually working. I wanted to give up and drop the course like half of those registered had already done. I wanted to quit, or at least find an easier option. But instead, I decided to stroll into the classroom and have a one-on-one conversation with the man who would change the path of my whole year, maybe my whole future. Looking back on that first conversation with Mr. Whitbeck I realize that the more we talked, the more my fears finally diminished. He explained to me that the first week was meant to reduce the size of the class, sorting out from the masses those who were really meant to be there. Some people were meant to drop that class, it was the right choice for them. I stayed, and it was the experience of a lifetime. During the next nine months, I grew closer to Mr. Whitbeck. I came to respect and to admire him, but I also came to realize that his passion for the subject matter was slowly but surely becoming my own. I have always enjoyed United States History, as it was taught to me from a very early age. I have fond memories of long discussions about World War II with my uncle on family vacations and of trips to museums and historical sites. Mr. Whitbeck gave the subject new life. I was looking at the same events, but with an entirely different perspective. It was fascinating. The classroom discussions and essays challenged me tremendously, but I responded to the challenge. I was genuinely proud of the work I was not only doing but enjoying. This new academic challenge was coming at just the right time in my life. An injured athlete post knee surgery, I was benched for months. Confined by braces and crutches, I needed a new arena to challenge myself. Mr. Whitbeck’s class delivered. My final paper was meant to be the culmination of all I had learned, not just about history itself but how to think, how to explore history and share it with others. I had almost complete freedom on the topic and chose the opportunity to combine two things I loved, history and sports. I wrote a history of the impact of a legendary coach on college football. After my year with Mr. Whitbeck, I knew just how to approach that topic, and whatever comes next. I also knew without a doubt that I wanted my future to include the opportunity to pass this experience on to other students in the future. I’m proud to start my college education next year in pursuit of a degree in secondary education.

It was my first day of my junior year. I walked into Erick Whitbeck’s AP US History class completely terrified as it was my first AP class, and a challenging one at that. The first week all he did was describe the course. This did not reduce my fear in the slightest as I realized we would be covering material at lightning speed, continually working. I wanted to give up and drop the course like half of the students registered had already done. I wanted to quit, or at least find an easier option. But instead, I decided to stroll into his classroom and have a one-on-one conversation with the man who would change the path of my whole year, maybe my whole academic future. Looking back on that first conversation with Mr. Whitbeck I realize that the more we talk, the more my fears diminished. He explained to me that the first week was meant to reduce the size of the class to those who were really meant to be there. Some people were supposed to drop that class. I stayed, and it was the experience of a lifetime. During the next nine months, I grew closer to Mr. Whitbeck. I came to respect and admired him, but I also came to realize that his passion for the subject matter was slowly but surely becoming my own.  I have always enjoyed United States History, as it was taught to me from a very early age. I have fond memories of long discussions about World War II with my uncle on family vacations and of trips to museums and historical sites. Mr. Whitbeck gave the subject new life. I was looking at the same events, but with an entirely different perspective. It was fascinating. The classroom discussions and essays challenged me tremendously, but I responded to the challenge. I was genuinely proud of the work I was not only doing but enjoying. My final paper was meant to be the culmination of all I had learned, not just about history itself but how to think, how to explore history and share it with others. I had almost complete freedom on the topic and chose the opportunity to combine two things I loved, history and sports. I wrote a history of the impact of a legendary coach on college football. After my year with Mr. Whitbeck, I knew just how to approach that topic, and whatever comes next.