Two people. That was the number of students enrolled in Environmental AP class at my high school during my senior year. It was one other girl in the class and me. That's it. From a glance, you would never expect me to be the type to love this class. I was someone who ran with a crowd that typically only focused on sports or the mall. However, my real passion, and something I could talk about for hours, were the natural world and environmental studies. Many of my friends never understood this obsession of mine. They joked about how I was weird or how they didn't truly care about the tips I gave them surrounding sustainability. However, I never let that stop me from pursuing higher education in the topic. Growing up, I had a true admiration for the natural world. Most girls my age enjoyed playing with dolls or dressing up, but I would beg my mom to take me on hikes at Valley Green Park right outside of Philadelphia. You could find me waist-deep in creeks, fishing, or building worm farms in mud on a rainy day. Being outside is where I feel most safe and at home. Everything about the environment, from the sounds of birds to the smells of dirt, is therapeutic to me. Every weekend morning, I ate my cereal on the counter, watching Animal Planet adding more and more to my science background knowledge. I couldn't get enough. From an early age, I knew my job would always end up being connected to the outdoors and protecting it from harm. There had to be some way that I could share this passion and essential information in a way that made sense. One great way to reach communities is through school districts. At West Chester University, I decided to become a teacher certified in both special education and general education. My plan was to use my passion for teaching and love for environmental science and instill it in my students. Part of the way I am helping the world is by teaching my classes about the importance of waste and sustainability. By giving advice from an early start in life, these students will carry this connection to the natural world their whole life. Starting these sustainable habits early is the next step we need to take as an educational community. The reason these environmental switches have been so hard to make is that they are new concepts to many people on earth. If we lay a foundation of knowledge earlier, this will change the course of people's thinking when approaching an engineering or business-related problem. So far, within my student teaching endeavor, I have created a class project where students use gray water from the sink and outside water cycle to water their class plant. Kindergarteners understanding the concept of gray water was a goal of mine, and now they will come to me with ideas of where we can find water to reuse. These are just a few examples of the things that could become a part of the future curriculum. My next goal and steps in life are to gain that contracted position in a school district and gain enough voice and status to introduce certain projects community-wide. It offers so many connections and relationship-building opportunities. Bringing personal passion and interests into the world, even if they are not typical for someone of your age/look, is what will change the future of every career.

Four years ago, I started my college career as an Environmental Science major at Drexel University. Growing up, I had a genuine admiration for the natural world. Most girls my age enjoyed playing with dolls or dressing up, but I would beg my mom to take me on hikes at Valley Green Park outside Philadelphia. You could find me waist-deep in creeks, fishing, or building worm farms in mud on a rainy day. Being outside is where I feel most safe and at home. Everything about the environment, from the sounds of birds to the smells of dirt, is therapeutic. From an early age, I knew my job would always be connected to the outdoors and protecting it from harm. So fast forward to high education, and I studied environmental law, taking soil samples and charting plant plots. Still, I felt there was something else I could be doing. One day a woman from the college of education came in and told us about joint science teaching programs in the Philadelphia area, and it was the one thing that genuinely excited me that semester. The idea of being able to create relationships with students and school-wide environmental projects flooded my mind. This was my calling. So within weeks, I transferred to one of the best teaching schools in the state. At West Chester, I decided to be a dual major since I wanted to be a general education teacher with some extra qualifications. I am fully aware that my classrooms will include students with specific disabilities. Having some background on how the special education department works allows me, as a teacher, to understand how to write differentiated lesson plans, manage my classroom, and understand the IEP process in greater detail. I planned to use my passion for teaching and love for environmental science and instill it in my students. When I left the science program at Drexel, I knew that I would still do my part to improve our planet. I am helping the world by teaching my classes about the importance of waste and sustainability. By advising an early start in life, these students will carry this connection to the natural world their whole life. Starting these sustainable habits early is the next step we need to take as an educational community. These environmental switches have been so hard to make because they are new concepts to many people on earth. If we lay a foundation of knowledge earlier, this will change the course of people's thinking when approaching an engineering or business-related problem. So far, within my student teaching endeavor, I have created a class project where students use gray water from the sink and outside water cycle to water their class plant. Kindergarteners understanding the concept of gray water was a goal of mine, and now they will come to me with ideas of where we can find water to reuse. I also have encouraged co-workers to download eco-friendly apps. Many of them now have "Ecosia" as their browser. The search engine uses the profit from ad traffic to fund climate change research as well as plant trees. These are just a few examples of what could become a part of the future curriculum. The best way I can get those who I care about around me to reduce their carbon footprint is to simply give them the knowledge of where most of it comes from. Little life changes like the ones above can become daily habits that create environmental mindfulness.

Every great leader had foundational values that drove their purpose. MLK had justice, and Harriet Tubman had trust. They knew what core values they stood for. I have two central core values. The first value is trust. I learned more than ever over the past summer how much relationships and connections are the keys to earning respect and making things run smoothly for all students in the classroom. As an ESY paraprofessional, I noticed that the girl I was assigned to did not listen to me the first week of meeting my student and refused to listen to other new teachers. However, with patience and compassion, I showed her that I was just there to help and help soothe her feelings on her worst days. Since she was severely autistic and non-verbal, her primary way of expressing pain was through pinching and biting. Many of her past para's didn't understand this and quit on her very quickly. In fact, she had five paraprofessionals assigned to her within a year, some of that left only a few weeks into the job. They refused to put the effort in since they believed there was no way further progress to be made. However, I used her AAC to communicate that I knew she wasn’t expressing these behaviors on purpose and that I would not be leaving her side. There was no way I was giving up on this student. The next few weeks went smoothly without hiccups, and many problem behaviors diminished. I knew that the missing element in the first week was trust. Trust with everyone involved allows for the responsibility to be shared. She went from refusing work and hiding in the back corner of the room to sitting for long periods of time, eager to learn. Everyone at the school was shocked. My motto for the rest of the extended school year was persistence and high expectations. Going into the world of special education and working with those not many people willingly want to work with is difficult. It is so easy to think that all doesn't and it's will be for nothing, and it would be easier to throw in the towel. We need to have more resources and energy to give those students a fighting chance. Just because their disability manifests behaviors that prevent them from learning, doesn’t mean it's impossible. These students have so much more to offer than people expect them to offer. The key is to find the one thing that makes them tick and run with it until that breakthrough occurs. Nothing is more special than watching a student's progress and reaching the potential they always could. A year ago, that student I worked with was considered a dead end regarding future careers. Now she is learning how to control those behaviors and practicing her entrepreneurial skills with the school's local coffee cart. Every person has potential and purpose on this earth, but some people might need the push from someone else to help them find it. The future is inclusion and developing new technology to have these students access that purpose.