I was raised in Zambia, Africa, as the daughter of missionaries who started and ran an orphanage for eight years. My closest friends were the Zambian children I attended school with and played with in the red dirt of Africa. Loving children who desperately needed love was one of the foundations on which my childhood was built, and that foundation soon became my passion. Throughout my life, I have looked for opportunities to serve and invest in children. In high school, I volunteered at a summer children’s camp, and at fifteen, I spent a summer in India working with children. After graduating high school, I spent a gap year traveling through seven different countries in Southeast Asia. It was during that year that I discovered something that has shaped the way I view education and ministry ever since: children are truly the same all over the world. Regardless of their culture, language, or circumstances, children want to be known, valued, protected, and loved. I encountered children who desperately needed to know their worth and receive a quality education. My dream of becoming a teacher began across the world, but it is just as strong here in Texas. I am currently attending Texas A&M University and majoring in Special Education. Although I graduated near the top of my high school class, spending a gap year overseas affected my eligibility for many scholarships. As a result, I have had to work diligently to finance my education. I have worked as a teacher at a church daycare, and I am currently serving as a part-time caretaker for a young man with special needs. Balancing work, school, and my future career has not always been easy, but it has strengthened my determination and reminded me why this goal matters so much to me. One of my deepest passions is being a safe place for people who do not have one. I believe that begins with children. My heart breaks for children who do not yet understand how valuable they are or how deserving they are of love, encouragement, and opportunity. I want to be the person who makes sure they know. Earning my degree in elementary education is the first step toward that goal. I want to become a teacher who does more than deliver lessons or meet academic standards. I want to be someone my students look forward to seeing every day. I want to create a classroom where children feel safe, capable, heard, and valued. I want to advocate for my students, recognize their individual strengths, and fight for them when they need someone in their corner. Our world is full of broken homes, difficult circumstances, and children who are growing up without the support they deserve. I may not be able to change every circumstance a child faces, but I can choose to be a consistent source of encouragement, safety, and hope. My experiences across three continents have shown me that the need for caring adults is universal. I began dreaming of becoming a teacher while playing in the red dirt of Zambia. That dream has followed me through India, Southeast Asia, and now Texas. I am committed to pursuing it because I believe education is about more than academics. It is about investing in the life of a child and helping them recognize their own worth and potential. I want to spend my life doing exactly that, both inside and outside the classroom.

I was raised in Zambia, Africa as the daughter of missionaries who started and ran an orphanage for 8 years. My closest friends are the Zambian children I attended school with and played in the red dirt of Africa with. Loving children who desperately need love is one of the foundations that my entire childhood was built on, and this foundation soon became my passion. Throughout my life, I have looked for ways to be involved in ministering to children. In high school, I volunteered at a summer children's camp, and I spent a summer in India at the age of 15 working with children. I also spent a gap year in 7 different countries in Southeast Asia after high school graduation. Asia is where I discovered that children are really the same all over the world. These experiences surrounded me with children who desperately needed to know the love of God and to receive a quality education. My dreams to be a teacher began across the world but are just as strong here in Texas. I am currently attending Blinn College and am nearing completion in their Associate of Science in Education program. I will then complete my Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education through the RELLIS program that partners with Tarleton University. Though I graduated near the top of my class from high school, I have found that my gap year overseas caused me to lose eligibility for many scholarships. Therefore, I am working at a church daycare during the day and as a waitress on the weekends, taking online classes to pursue my dreams of becoming an educator. A passion of mine is to be a safe place for people who don’t have one. I firmly believe that this starts with children. My heart breaks for kids who don’t know how valuable they are, and how much they deserve love. I will be the person that makes sure they know. The first step towards this goal is to obtain a degree in elementary education, which is why I chose this major. From there I will begin teaching, but I long to be more than a teacher. I long to be someone that the kids look forward to seeing every day. I long to be someone that always fights for the truth and fights for my children, whether they are biologically mine or not. Our world is full of broken homes and broken families. Something needs to change, and I will spend my entire life making sure it does, both inside and outside the classroom.

My life experiences growing up overseas have influenced me greatly to pursue a career in nursing. I have some previous experience in the medical field, but none of it happened in America! I was raised in Africa, and we had volunteer teams come every month. One of these teams was sent by a prosthetics clinic in America. All the surrounding villages would gather at a small clinic on the orphanage and sat for hours waiting to be seen. I was blessed to speak the language fluently, so even as a child, I was able to help the teams translate, and I worked beside them all day. During this time, I was able to learn some things about nursing and medicine, but most importantly I was able to watch what it looked like for doctors and nurses to truly value their patients. I was able to see first-hand what selfless service looked like, as everyone was jet-lagged and working for 12+ hours a day! I also served in India for 2 months and traveled to villages doing eyeglass clinics. We met people and gave them tests and provided glasses for them! Again, this showed me how important it is for others to feel valued and taken care of. I was able to meet people and hear their stories, while also providing something that they needed. After high school, I spent a gap year serving in Southeast Asia. It was in a tiny hospital in Indonesia that I fully realized my calling to nursing. My experience is little, but my eyes have been opened to the need for healthcare all around the world, and I want to do everything I can to meet those needs. The truth is, I have always been afraid to pursue a career in the medical field. I have always told myself that I am not smart enough, or that I couldn’t possibly go through that much schooling. It took two hours in that tiny hospital in Indonesia to make me realize that all these excuses were selfish. I realize now that the world needs more healthcare workers, and God has blessed me with the opportunity to go to school and live for something more than myself. I want to give my life serving others. I am now excited to meet the challenges that may come, because I know why I am doing it. My goal is to become a pediatric nurse and one day work in India in a clinic, helping those who cannot help themselves. My goal is to complete school and push through the hard times, always remembering why I started. My goal is to spend my life thinking about myself and my own plans as little as possible, and to spend it serving others instead.

The truth is, I have not always wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. I have always told myself that I am not smart enough, or that I couldn’t possibly go through that much schooling. It took two hours in a tiny hospital in Indonesia to make me realize that all of these excuses were selfish. I realize now that the world needs more healthcare workers, and God has blessed me with the opportunity to go to school and live for something more than myself. I want to give my life serving others. I am now excited to meet the challenges that may come, because I know why I am doing it. My goal is to become a pediatric nurse and one day work in India in a clinic, to help those who cannot help themselves. My goal is to complete school and push through the hard times, always remembering why I started. My goal is to spend my life thinking about myself and my own plans as little as possible, and to spend it serving others instead. I have had some previous experience in the medical field, but none of it happened in America! I was raised in Africa and we had volunteer teams come every month. One of these teams was sent by a prosthetics clinic in America. All of the surrounding villages would gather at a small clinic on the orphanage and sat for hours waiting to be seen. I was blessed to speak the language fluently, so I was able to help the teams translate, and worked beside them all day!! During this time, I was able to learn some medical things, but most importantly I was able to watch what it looked like for doctors and nurses to truly value their patients. I was able to see first-hand what selfless service looked like, as everyone was jet-lagged and working for 12+ hours in a day!! I also served in India for 2 months and traveled to villages doing eyeglass clinics. We met people and gave them tests and provided glasses for them!! Again, this showed me how important it is for others to feel valued, and taken care of. I was able to meet people and hear their stories, while also providing something that they needed. My experience is little, but my eyes have been opened to the need for healthcare all around the world, and I want to do everything I can to meet those needs.