“Pick something that you love doing and make it your career.” My high school’s chapter of the Teacher Academy of Maryland organized an event for the local elementary school. I hitched a ride from a friend of mine who was in her senior year of the program and she told me all about her positive experience. I joined the program during my sophomore year and took an introductory development class. By then, I had fallen in love with the idea of becoming a teacher, so the obvious next route was to tell my family. “Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want to do that work for such a small salary?” This was the first time someone tried to turn me away from teaching and it certainly wasn’t the last. I lived to prove them wrong. After all, I wasn’t going to let the long days I spent teaching my stuffed animals go to waste. Fast forward to today, I now work part-time at a daycare. The look in those kids’ eyes when they finally understood their homework, could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend, makes it all worth it. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each child. It’s great to have just a few things that only we can talk about or have in common. And that moment when a child finally comes out of their shell and realizes, ‘things are pretty fun here’, now that’s a success story. It was obvious that when I got hired, I was more of a last resort. Some people would take that to heart, but that’s not who I am. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I tend to blow everyone’s expectations out of the water tenfold. By the time I hit one year of working, I had been named Staff Member of the month twice, which is pretty hard when you are 1 of 23 staff members and there are only 12 months in a year. Not to mention, I’m still the only male currently on staff. Many children who I work with don’t have healthy home lives. Some families live paycheck to paycheck, others ask for donations to regift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved. Education comes as a close second. After all, “A child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “as Rita Pierson claims in her TED Talk about the value of teaching to the students and not to the curriculum. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male role model. In elementary schools, teaching is 80% female dominated. Future education also needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it’s not easy when you have to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans and make sure they all stay on grade level and are well-behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend.

“Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want that work with such little salary?” This was the first time I was turned away from teaching. I lived to prove them wrong, after all, my long days teaching my stuffed animals wouldn’t go to waste. I now work part time at a daycare. There, I found that this challenge I’d given myself would be easy seeing as this is where I belonged. I had found my love for teaching. The look in their eyes when they realized they finally understood their homework, when they could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each and every child. Just a few things that only we could talk about or have in common or when a child would finally come out of their shell and realize, ‘things were pretty fun here’, that was a success story. It was obvious that when I got hired, I was more of a last resort. Some would take this to heart, but some people don’t know me. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I blow everyone’s expectations out of the water ten-fold. By the time I hit one year of working, I had been staff member of the month twice, which is pretty hard when you are 1 of 23 staff members and there are only 12 months in a year, not to mention I’m still the only male. Many children that I work with do not have healthy home lives, as it is in schools as well. Some living paycheck to paycheck, others asking for any donations to gift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background into the classroom. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved, and education comes as a close second. After all, “a child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “as Rita Pierson claims in her TED Talk about the value of teaching to the students and not to the curriculum. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male in their life as teaching is 80% female dominated in elementary schools. Future education needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it can be hard when you have to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans while making sure they all stay at grade level and are well behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, kind, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend.

As I entered my freshman year at Huntingtown High School, we were rushed and bombarded to select a career path that would determine our future from now until retirement. That seemed like such an unconventional task to uphold us 14-year-olds to accomplish. I had to decide what inspired me. I saw a quote late freshman year that said, “pick something that you love doing and make it your career.” Fortunately, I needed more service hours and decided that I would sign up to volunteer as a station leader for my old elementary school’s end of year field day. My high school’s local chapter of the Teacher Academy of Maryland had organized the event and I hitched a ride from a friend in the program who increased my interest in the experience. She was in her senior year of the program and told me all about the pathway and how she was able to intern at the same elementary school that year. I joined the TAM program my sophomore year and took an intro to human growth and development class. By then, I had fallen in love with the idea of becoming a teacher, not just because I had made a big decision, but to know that I was making a difference. My whole life I’ve been told that I am very mature for my age so when I told my family that I wanted to become a teacher I was surprised when I was met with instant regret. “Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want that work with such little salary?” This was the first time I was turned away from teaching. I lived to prove them wrong, after all, my long days teaching my stuffed animals wouldn’t go to waste. I now work part time at a daycare. There, I found that this challenge I’d given myself would be easy seeing as this is where I belonged. I had found my love for teaching. The look in their eyes when they realized they finally understood their homework, when they could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each and every child. Just a few things that only we could talk about or have in common or when a child would finally come out of their shell and realize, ‘things were pretty fun here’, that was a success story. It was obvious that when I got hired, I was more of a last resort. Some would take this to heart, but some people don’t know me. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I blow everyone’s expectations out of the water ten-fold. By the time I hit one year of working, I had been staff member of the month twice, which is pretty hard when you are 1 of 23 staff members and there are only 12 months in a year, not to mention I’m still the only male. Many children that I work with do not have healthy home lives, as it is in schools as well. Some living paycheck to paycheck, others asking for any donations to gift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background into the classroom. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved, and education comes as a close second. After all, “a child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “as Rita Pierson claims in her TED Talk about the value of teaching to the students and not to the curriculum. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male in their life as teaching is 80% female dominated in elementary schools. Future education needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it can be hard when you have to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans while making sure they all stay at grade level and are well behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, kind, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend.

I think Sammy and I are very similar people. I’ve always been passionate about making an impact on the community. Paving my own path as a first-born child, I found testing the rules very natural to me. I was always doing whatever came naturally, and for me, that was entertaining. I found my joy in dancing at a very young age, as I was brought into this life with music playing. Now in my eleventh year of competitive dance, the best achievement in my career so far is being able to teach the next generation of male dancers. Growing up in the industry, it was hard to find a male figure to look up to, and now I’m proud to say I’m part of a community where we have normalized male dancing and gained positive influence. Entering high school was very hard for me after having just moved and then being forced into a pandemic. After a few weeks I was able to make some friends, to my surprise, and found my niche in student council. I was able to create solutions to issues around the school and was eventually voted as class president because of my leadership skills. These skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and time-management, are transferable to real world situations and contribute to personal and professional success. The benefits gained from community service and extracurriculars have allowed me to find a job at a daycare after school and in between dance as I aspire to become an elementary education teacher post-graduation. I have also used these skills to become appointed into my school’s chapter of National Honors Society. Getting into NHS has proven very hard and competitive, allowing only top academic students, volunteer requirements, and outstanding character. I have exceeded this requirement two-fold each semester. I believe that extracurriculars give a different perspective to each person. You get out as much as you put into it. Volunteering has always been very important to my wellbeing, as it’s something I simply enjoy doing. I alter serve every Sunday at my church, choreograph my local middle school’s theater performances, help at our annual field days and special Olympics, and clean up my school’s campus during any free time I have between my crazy schedules. I believe these extracurriculars are a way for me to repay my community for all it’s done in creating my character. Having such a positive upbringing and a supportive group of people raising me has allowed me to grow and blossom in such a way that I can finally give back to my community and help bring up the next group of eager citizens to do the same.

My high school’s chapter of the Teacher Academy of Maryland organized an event for the local elementary school. I hitched a ride from a friend of mine who was in her senior year of the program and she told me all about her positive experience. I joined the program during my sophomore year and took an introductory development class. By then, I had fallen in love with the idea of becoming a teacher, so the obvious next route was to tell my family. “Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want to do that work for such a small salary?” This was the first time someone tried to turn me away from teaching and it certainly wasn’t the last. I lived to prove them wrong. After all, I wasn’t going to let the long days I spent teaching my stuffed animals go to waste. Fast forward to today, I now work part-time at a daycare. The look in those kids’ eyes when they finally understood their homework, could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend, makes it all worth it. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each child. It’s great to have just a few things that only we can talk about or have in common. And that moment when a child finally comes out of their shell and realizes, ‘things are pretty fun here’, now that’s a success story. It was obvious that when I got hired, I was more of a last resort. Some people would take that to heart, but that’s not who I am. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I tend to blow everyone’s expectations out of the water tenfold. By the time I hit one year of working, I had been named Staff Member of the month twice, which is pretty hard when you are 1 of 23 staff members and there are only 12 months in a year. Not to mention, I’m still the only male currently on staff. Many children who I work with don’t have healthy home lives. Some families live paycheck to paycheck, others ask for donations to regift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved. Education comes as a close second. After all, “A child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “as Rita Pierson claims in her TED Talk about the value of teaching to the students and not to the curriculum. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male role model. In elementary schools, teaching is 80% female dominated. Future education also needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it’s not easy when you have to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans and make sure they all stay on grade level and are well-behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend. This scholarship would help me succeed in my secondary education to fulfill these promises to give back to my community.

I felt that I either needed to hide the fact that I was a dancer or be bullied. I tried to hide it, but it was a part of me. It was my outlet and my passion. One day I wore my dance jacket to school, and that’s when it began. The verbal assaults and attacks on my sexuality. The accusations that I must have been gay. I wasn’t prepared for that, and I immediately wanted to quit dancing. Supporting mental health is very important to me. I’ve felt the impact on a personal level. I’ve been competitively dancing for the past 9 years. Dance is something I’ve been passionate about since I was a kid. But, unfortunately, being a male dancer comes with its downsides. When I entered middle school, I realized the stigma was real. Society puts a lot of pressure on boys to play sports and be athletic. There’s no room for male dancers on the sports field. Dance is typically reserved for girls, while boys tend to be belittled and ridiculed. Over time I have progressively become more confident, but only through the help of others and the most supportive studio in the world. I met Mr. Pat in my second boys recreational hip-hop/acro class. Nervous from moving from a previously toxic studio to a brand-new setting as a nine-year-old, I didn’t instantly click with him like many would claim to have at my studio. It took some time because of my trust issues to allow myself to be open and realize from a young age that help can simply be help. Mr. Pat helped me come out of my shell and foster a young love for the sport and place I now call my second home. Many hear horror stories of coaches who make athletes quit because of how degrading they can be, but Pat grew up in the industry and knows how it was and instilled a great deal of confidence in me when I’m on stage, in the classroom, or out in public. So I wouldn’t say that there is any one thing that I grew on or surpassed in the dance world, but I have made so many life changes and broken so many social barriers in today’s world all thanks to dance. These obstacles may have seen miniscule to some, but were monumental to my development as a person, and my character. I couldn’t walk out of the house, now I’m running full speed with people greeting my in every direction from different walks of life, social groups, it doesn’t matter. Through Mr. Pat helping me grow as a dancer, he helped me grow twice as high as a person. I carry his words of praise with me every where I go. His time put into me has allowed me the opportunity to express myself in the world however I feel with one hundred percent confidence the entire time. Dance has made me the person that I am today. Along with being a 4.0 student, class president, avid community service volunteer, and being involved with many other extra curriculars, I plan to pursue a degree in elementary education to give back to my community and repay them for everything they have put into me.

My high school’s chapter of the Teacher Academy of Maryland organized an event for the local elementary school. I hitched a ride from a friend of mine who was in her senior year of the program and she told me all about her positive experience. I joined the program during my sophomore year and took an introductory development class. By then, I had fallen in love with the idea of becoming a teacher, so the obvious next route was to tell my family. “Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want to do that work for such a small salary?” This was the first time someone tried to turn me away from teaching and it certainly wasn’t the last. I lived to prove them wrong. After all, I wasn’t going to let the long days I spent teaching my stuffed animals go to waste. Fast forward to today, I now work part-time at a daycare. The look in those kids’ eyes when they finally understood their homework, could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend, makes it all worth it. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each child. It’s great to have just a few things that only we can talk about or have in common. And that moment when a child finally comes out of their shell and realizes, ‘things are pretty fun here’, now that’s a success story. It was obvious that when I got hired, I was more of a last resort. Some people would take that to heart, but that’s not who I am. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I tend to blow everyone’s expectations out of the water tenfold. By the time I hit one year of working, I had been named Staff Member of the month twice, which is pretty hard when you are 1 of 23 staff members and there are only 12 months in a year. Not to mention, I’m still the only male currently on staff. Many children who I work with don’t have healthy home lives. Some families live paycheck to paycheck, others ask for donations to regift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved. Education comes as a close second. After all, “A child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “as my favorite teacher, Karen Tolson told our Curriculum Development class. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male role model. In elementary schools, teaching is 80% female dominated. Future education also needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it’s not easy when you have to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans and make sure they all stay on grade level and are well-behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend.

My high school’s chapter of the Teacher Academy of Maryland organized an event for the local elementary school. I hitched a ride from a friend of mine who was in her senior year of the program and she told me all about her positive experience. I joined the program during my sophomore year and took an introductory development class. By then, I had fallen in love with the idea of becoming a teacher, so the obvious next route was to tell my family. “Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want to do that work for such a small salary?” This was the first time someone tried to turn me away from teaching and it certainly wasn’t the last. I lived to prove them wrong. After all, I wasn’t going to let the long days I spent teaching my stuffed animals go to waste. Fast forward to today, I now work part-time at a daycare. The look in those kids’ eyes when they finally understood their homework, could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend, makes it all worth it. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each child. It’s great to have just a few things that only we can talk about or have in common. And that moment when a child finally comes out of their shell and realizes, ‘things are pretty fun here’, now that’s a success story. It was obvious that when I got hired, I was more of a last resort. Some people would take that to heart, but that’s not who I am. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I tend to blow everyone’s expectations out of the water tenfold. By the time I hit one year of working, I had been named Staff Member of the month twice, which is pretty hard when you are 1 of 23 staff members and there are only 12 months in a year. Not to mention, I’m still the only male currently on staff. Many children who I work with don’t have healthy home lives. Some families live paycheck to paycheck, others ask for donations to regift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved. Education comes as a close second. After all, “A child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “as Rita Pierson claims in her TED Talk about the value of teaching to the students and not to the curriculum. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male role model. In elementary schools, teaching is 80% female dominated. Future education also needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it’s not easy when you have to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans and make sure they all stay on grade level and are well-behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend.

As a young boy, I only knew my grandmother. Both my grandfathers on either side of my family had passed from bone cancer and a heart attack. My grandmother or as we call her Nana, is the light of family. When we go see Nana to visit or simply share life experiences with her it brings a fluster of emotions to us all. About three years ago Nana was diagnosed with breast cancer. This news had struck the family hard for we knew all too well cancer's silent remorse for humankind, no matter who you were as a person. It didn't matter what you looked like or how you carried yourself, nor what you did with your life. But, we knew her battle would start now and continue throughout the rest of her life. She began her treatments in secret and tried to remain the powerful Nana we grandchildren knew her to be. Some days were harder than others, some visits we weren't greeted at the front door. As the eldest grandchild, I had known Nana for the longest time out of all the grandchildren. I only saw the good, kindhearted, tough-loving Nana. Seeing her in such pain and guilt of suffering made my mental image of her altar. Nana is forever my biggest supporter. When I told my family that I wanted to become an educator, she was the first to jump up and down with excitement and support my decision. When I got my acceptance letter to my dream college to study elementary and special education and a coveted spot on the dance team, she was the first person I called. My grandmother is now almost a year in remission, and nothing would have been possible without all of the round-the-clock treatments that she received from her doctors. Since her remission and battling journey, I have raised money with my dance studio for The "Dancers Against Cancer" foundation and The Curefest Foundation. We have now become a Hope Studio, pledging to donate at least $1,000 a year, every year to the cause. We have pink-out pop-ups and the majority of us have become "Dance Hope Cure" ambassadors. We even have a free workshop night just to raise money for the Hollywood Dance Experience and their partnership with Dancers Against Cancer where esteemed choreographers come in from all over the country to teach free classes. I believe that getting tested and screened the earlier and the most frequently is the best course of action. Had my Nana not gone in to get her regular screening, the cancer would have spread too far for any treatment to help. I am a firm believer that you need to keep your health at the top of your priorities because your body is your beacon of life. Finally, this scholarship would say everything I can't say. I would graduate with my Education degree, come back and teach in the Maryland School system, and give back to my community the way that they did, by raising future generations of students and informing them of the importance of their health. Many students don't have access to information or are able to stay adaptable to the newest version of learning. It is my hope that with just one positive role-model in their lives, I can change how they view their education and their lives for the better.

As I entered my freshman year at Huntingtown High School, we were rushed and bombarded to select a career path that would determine our future from now until retirement. That seemed like such an unconventional task for us 14-year-olds to accomplish. I had to decide what inspired me. I saw a quote late freshman year saying, “pick something that you love doing and make it your career.” My whole life I’ve been told that I am very mature for my age so when I told my family that I wanted to become a teacher I was surprised when I was met with instant regret. “Why would you want to sit in a classroom all day with bad kids?” “Who would want that work with such little salary?” This was the first time I was turned away from teaching. I lived to prove them wrong, after all, my long days teaching my stuffed animals wouldn’t go to waste. I now work part-time at a daycare. There, I found that this challenge of proving them wrong would be easy. I had found my love for teaching. The look in their eyes when they realized they finally understood their homework, when they could spell their name without help, or retrieve a fun fact to tell me after a long weekend. More importantly, I love having a personal relationship with each and every child. These are just a few things that only we could talk about or have in common or when a child would finally come out of their shell and realize, ‘things were pretty fun here’, that was a success story. It was obvious that I was more of a last resort when I got hired. Some would take this to heart, but some people don’t know me. When I feel like I’ve been underestimated, I make it my goal to exceed expectations. By the time I hit one year of working, I became staff member of the month three times, which is difficult when you are 1 of 19 staff members and there are only twelve months in a year, not to mention I’m the only male. Many children that I work with do not have healthy home lives, as it is at school as well. Some living paycheck to paycheck, others asking for any donations to gift during Christmas time. Every child brings a new and unique background into the classroom. I believe that above all, a teacher’s job is to make their students feel safe and loved, and education comes as a close second. After all, “a child isn’t going to listen to someone that they don’t like, “ as Rita Pierson claims in her TED Talk about the value of teaching to the students and not to the curriculum. It is my goal as a future educator to allow students to have a role model. It is important, especially at such a young age in development to have a dependable male in their life as teaching is 80% female-dominated in elementary schools. Future education needs to allow more flexibility for underprivileged students and families. Although a great teacher can help to the best of their ability, it can be hard to split your attention between 25 children with individualized plans while ensuring they all stay at grade level and are well-behaved. But hey, all in a day’s work, right? Teachers wear so many hats and also have to be patient, kind, tough, compassionate, and authoritative. It takes a very strong person to be a teacher, but it takes an even stronger person to be a friend.

I think Sammy and I are very similar people. I’ve always been passionate about making an impact on the community. Paving my own path as a first-born child, I found testing the rules very natural to me. I was always doing whatever came naturally, and for me, that was entertaining. I found my joy in dancing at a very young age, as I was brought into this life with music playing. Now in my eleventh year of competitive dance, the best achievement in my career so far is being able to teach the next generation of male dancers. Growing up in the industry, it was hard to find a male figure to look up to, and now I’m proud to say I’m part of a community where we have normalized male dancing and gained positive influence. Entering high school was very hard for me after having just moved and then being forced into a pandemic. After a few weeks I was able to make some friends, to my surprise, and found my niche in student council. I was able to create solutions to issues around the school and was eventually voted as class president because of my leadership skills. These skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and time-management, are transferable to real world situations and contribute to personal and professional success. The benefits gained from community service and extracurriculars have allowed me to find a job at a daycare after school and in between dance as I aspire to become an elementary education teacher post-graduation. I have also used these skills to become appointed into my school’s chapter of National Honors Society. Getting into NHS has proven very hard and competitive, allowing only top academic students, volunteer requirements, and outstanding character. I have exceeded this requirement two-fold each semester. I believe that extracurriculars give a different perspective to each person. You get out as much as you put into it. Volunteering has always been very important to my wellbeing, as it’s something I simply enjoy doing. I alter serve every Sunday at my church, choreograph my local middle school’s theater performances, help at our annual field days and special Olympics, and clean up my school’s campus during any free time I have between my crazy schedules. I believe these extracurriculars are a way for me to repay my community for all it’s done in creating my character. Having such a positive upbringing and a supportive group of people raising me has allowed me to grow and blossom in such a way that I can finally give back to my community and help bring up the next group of eager citizens to do the same.