I great up in a family that did not dream about college, let alone reach this level of education. College was far from my thoughts growing up. I was fortunate enough to get into a work-study program in high school. I started at the public library working as a clerk part-time. Just a couple of months into this position, I was promoted to full-time. I was surrounded by people at the library who all went to college. The conversation in the break room often centered around the possibility of me attending the local community college. For the first time in my life, conversation about me going to college was an actual thing! I stepped into my first college class and knew I had found something I could be passionate about. Taking class after class, I was eager to continue on this educational path. I completed an Associate's degree at a local community college, then headed off to a state school for a Bachelor's and Master's degree. While completing my first Master's degree, I was invited by the state college to guest lecture. If I was not already bit by the higher education bug, guest lecturing secured my desire. Working alongside some of the professors (most of whom had Doctoral degrees in Education), I believe it was then that I knew I wanted to teach at the college level and the Doctorate would help me achieve that dream. I went on to receive an educational administrative degree and then transferred some of that degree into a Doctorate. I am currently working on my dissertation chapters and look forward to the day that I become a Doctor of Education. Once I am done, I will work on securing my dream of teaching at a local college.

No one wants to say the 'C' word! Yet almost everyone has been affected by it. When someone hears those ill-fated words "You have cancer", it becomes difficult to talk about it with others. People do not know what to say to someone diagnosed. Cancer patients can also struggle with what to say to others. A cancer diagnosis can be very isolating. In 1980, our family was affected by cancer with my brother's diagnosis. It was such a shock to our world, but for over 10 years, we did not speak of his diagnosis. It was a taboo subject in our family. That all changed in 2002 when he invited us to attend the local Relay For Life. There my brother stood on stage talking publically about his brain cancer diagnosis. This was the first time I heard him talk about cancer as a part of his life. He helped others recognize the 'C' word could be said out loud without some catastrophe occurring. In 2007, Jan lost his battle with this terrible disease. Prior to his death, he made me promise to always tell his story and support others. In 2012, I helped found a new Relay For Life in our town. Our focus was to show others that cancer was not a death sentence. We would find ways to support the patients and their families affected, honor the memories of those who had lost their battle, and raise money for cancer research and supports. For eight years, we would come together to shout the 'C' word as a community. We served over 500 dinners to survivors and their families, honored countless survivors, and raised over $400,000 to fight the deadly disease. The 'C' word is less scary in my community now as a result of our fight.

Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best. - Bob Talbert As an educator, I believe we always have a responsibility to teach the whole child, not just ensure they can read, write, and do mathematics. When student's social-emotional needs are not met, it is difficult to achieve success in academic areas. One of my favorite books, read early in my teaching career, helped me change my perspective about how teachers need to take a greater interest in our students' day-to-day well-being and how they interact with each other. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult tells the story of a school shooting through the eyes of the killer. Never before had I considered the killer as a person, not the monster portrayed by the media or society. Never before had I really had an understanding of how the negative interacts between students could lead to such a horrific incident. I read Nineteen Minutes while teaching at an inner-city elementary school. My students, grades three-five, predominately Hispanic or black, and all were students with special needs. All of my students were struggling learners and easy targets for being bullying or teased by their general education peers. They often use negative interactions as a coping strategy for their learning difficulties. Following reading this book, I knew I needed to incorporate more learning opportunities to combat bullying and support self-acceptance. I scoured the library shelves for texts addressing bullying to share during read-aloud. I added writing prompts that promoted positive self-esteem. When students engaged in hurtful verbal behaviors, I helped them process the situation through the use of think sheets to help them reflect on their behavior. I took any opportunity I was given to promote my students' social-emotional wellbeing and promote positive interactions all because of this book.

Hunger is not an issue of charity. it is an issue of justice. - Jacques Diouf Too many people in this world go hungry every day. Experts estimate one in nine people suffer from deficiencies in their nutrition and from hunger. That is over 820 million people! Sadly, over 5 million children under five died in 2018 due to hunger. Hunger can prevent people's ability to work and learn. This can contribute to a cycle of poverty for families. Food insecurity affects the overall health of men, women, and children throughout the world. This has significantly increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are limited in access to the food they need to survive each day. Even with access, much of the food available lack the nutritional value needed for a person's well-being. Poverty can force families to spend income on accessible foods, often of poorer quality, processed, and higher in carbohydrates. How can this problem of worldwide hunger be addressed? There is not one single, easy solution to this situation. Many world organizations are working to fight against global hunger. These organizations work to establish funds, change laws, work on the effects of climate change, provide access to clean water, promote proper hygiene, and so many more actions that work towards putting an end to world hunger. When we address and reduce world hunger issues, this positively impacts our economy and provides equality for all people. One way we can work on this problem is to make better food choices. It is important to support local farmers, make choices for food that are sustainable, and work towards reduced food waste through composting and reusable packaging. These measures can promote local foods and products and greatly reduce one's carbon footprints. We all need to help end world hunger.

"Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful." - Zig Ziglar There is nothing more adverse than going against what society expects of you. At sixteen, I became a teenage mother on welfare. Society certainly scoffed at me. I was judged for being a "bad" person. People turned their back on me. Others spoke about me in unkind terms. No one expected me to be anything more than the labels they placed on me as a teen mom. None of this helped me be the mother I needed to be or to work on getting myself into a better place in life. It was not until I decided I wanted to go back to finish high school that others took me seriously about my future. I wanted to get off welfare and knew I needed a high school diploma to do so. I was determined to make a better life for my son and me. I asked everyone I could for help to help me get out of the mold I was put in by society. While faced with much frustration, I found three educators who not only listened to me but who put into place the steps that would help me work towards my goals. Thanks to a guidance counselor, I secured a work-study job. This led to a full-time position in my senior year of high school. This position led to college courses and the realization that I wanted to be a teacher who supported others just as I had been supported. Along the way, I met my husband and he adopted my son. I changed positions and started teaching preschool. We welcomed a daughter and our children completed our family. I took time off college to raise my children. However, I knew I would need to get back to college eventually. When my son was diagnosed with a learning disability in reading, I knew my direction for school was set. After finishing an Associate's degree, I went on to complete a Bachelor's in Special Education. Next came a Master's as a Reading Specialist. I was determined to learn how to help my son so that he would graduate high school as well. It was the proudest moment of my life to see him walk across the stage at graduation to receive his diploma. Or so I thought. Just four years later, I got to see him graduate from college. This was truly the proudest moment. Now onto a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, I am determined to see my education through to the end and support new educators. Reflecting on my accomplishments, I do think I am pretty humble about how far I have come from that sixteen-year-old welfare mom. It has taken a lot of hard work and some really supportive people along the way to help me overcome the challenges I faced at sixteen and to become a successful former teen mom.

People often ask me why I volunteer so much. The answer for me is pretty simple. When I was sixteen years old, a group of people came into my life and supported me through my pregnancy. These people tutored me through high school, found me a part-time job that turned into a full-time career, and helped turn my life from being stuck to that of hope. These educators and community people also helped me realize I could believe in myself and the future with my son. It was through the help and support of these individuals that I vowed to live my life by giving to others what was given to me. I have dabbled in all sorts of volunteering opportunities, including mentoring teenage mothers, serving food at a soup kitchen, running a 5K, delivering holiday meals to those less fortunate, and serving ice cream sundaes to veterans while they told the tales of their experiences. Each time I give of myself, I am reminded of that scared sixteen-year-old girl that had no clue of what the future would bring her and her child. A lot has changed over the last 36 years. Life has been very good to me. Hard work and determination helped that young girl rise up to become a successful educator and, even more importantly, mother of two adults who know the value of giving to others. Volunteering has become a way of life for my family. Both of my children have followed in my footsteps and have eagerly engaged in many of the community volunteer activities I have participated in. This is my impact on my community. My children, and many other family members and friends who have joined us in different activities over the years, know how important it is to give back for the many blessings afforded us. My volunteerism has brought recognition from state and local politicians, community groups, and national organizations. I have been awarded plaques that adorn my wall, donations provided in my name, and written up in the press. However, even if none of these moments of recognition occurred, I would still give my time to others. Why? Because I can. I am not sure which of these volunteering times was the most impactful for others, but I hope each one showed others that I genuinely cared about others' well-being. With each experience, I do believe the community I served was made just a little better than before. I believe those elderly veterans appreciated being listened to and felt heard, cancer survivors were made aware that more money was provided for their care and for research, low-income families were able to provide a wholesome meal and some gifts for their family each year, and a teen mom (or several) started to believe in a brighter future for themself and their child. That is the impact I want others to remember me by.

"Tell my story". That is what Jan asked of me just a few weeks before he passed away of brain cancer. At the time I did not know how to accomplish this. However, four years later I figured that out with the American Cancer Society. Standing before hundreds of people at Relay For Life allowed me to tell my brother's story many times over seven years. In those seven years, I helped raise over $400,000 to keep his legacy alive. I am sure he is proud of how I accomplished this goal to tell others of his cancer journey.

Maya Angelou once said, "At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel." I live my life in service to others and work hard to make others feel good about themselves. My job as a special education teacher puts me directly in a position to support students, parents, and staff. I know the importance of sharing my knowledge and expertise in special education in order to provide students with the individualized educational supports they need in order to progress in school. As a special education teacher, my students rely on me to know them beyond their three Rs abilities. Teaching the whole child is a vital part of my role. My students are struggling learners. They often lack confidence in their skills. Learning happens when we are willing to take risks. However, my special education students rarely allowed themselves to take those risks because too often they are faced with those moments in which they "cannot" in school. I strive to show my students how much I believe in their abilities and help them internalize that feeling so their confidence increases. It is through these opportunities that I believe I make a difference with my students. As a teacher, that is my legacy. My time outside of my job is often spent volunteering. Often, when I ask others to get involved in giving time, I hear how busy they are. I am a full-time teacher, a part-time student, and have a family. I know how valuable time is and that people are busy. My priorities are set to include volunteering. Giving back to others, helping them to feel good about themselves or their beliefs, gives me great pleasure. I am also fortunate that my family has adopted the same sense of giving back to others and they often join me in the volunteering opportunities I choose. Volunteering helps me feel purposeful in my community. I have skills and knowledge that I can share with others in need. Giving of my time allows me to help a cause, a situation, or a need someone in my community. Showing others how giving of myself is important has encouraged others to give of themselves. No matter the cause or the activity, there is always time to volunteer your time or talent. As for my legacy as a person, I want people to remember how I lived my life. Whether as a special educator or a volunteer, I live with purpose. I want people to remember me for being a person who lived dedicated my time to others. I want to be remembered for the passion I bring to each aspect of my life. But most of all, I want people to remember how I made them feel, even if it was just for a moment of my time. If this is my legacy, then I have lived my life well.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." If money was not an issue, I would use my time to volunteer for a variety of organizations that could use my help. When my children were young, I found myself needing to fill my time during the day with something that provided me with a sense of purpose beyond caring for my husband and children. My first volunteer position was working with teenage mothers who needed someone to guide them and offer them support. Over the two years I worked within this program, I worked with two different mothers. Over those two years, I spent my time helping them navigate cooking favorite foods, applying for college, or even simple tasks such as how to care for a colicky infant. In turn, these young women taught me a lot about the challenges faced by mothers in poverty or with minimal family support, how to budget money when you have little to spend, and how the little moment in life are actually big moments that need to be celebrated. My next volunteer job was was as a Cub Scout Den Mother. I took this position as eagerly as I had working with the teen moms and taught these boys anything I could that would help them be better people. We worked on every badge we could. We cleaned river banks, sold items to raise money for orphanages, and collected every bottle and can we could get our hands on. I went on with this group of boys to Boy Scouts, helping them to continue earning those badges and cheering them on as many of them reach Eagle Scout. For the past fourteen years, I have belonged to a local women's club which is focused solely on volunteering and making the community a better place. I have held numerous positions in this club, including as Scholarship Chair, Publicity Chair, and Newsletter Chair. This club has helped me give my time to many different events, including ones that promote literacy and school bus safety. My greatest accomplishment of volunteering started in 2012 when I chose to become the Relay For Life Committee Chairperson for my local event. Despite the fact that I had no idea what I was doing, I worked tirelessly to help raise $32,000 for the American Cancer Society that first year. While that first year was a smaller event, every year for the next six years we great to an event of almost 500 cancer survivors and caregivers. In the seven years we ran our Relay event, we raised $450,000! That means more rides for cancer patients, more wigs for those dealing with hair loss, more free stays at a local Hope Lodge, and more money for researchers to work tirelessly towards finding a cure for this dreaded disease. I have participated in a variety of volunteering events. I have helped raise funds for scholarships for deserving children, serve meals at soup kitchens, collect clothing for homeless people, serve ice cream sundaes to veterans, write letters "from Santa", walk for autism, and so much more. Each of these opportunities has helped me feel a purpose in life and filled my soul with an understanding of who I am. The best part of all of this is that my children have often been by my side for these events. While time is limited due to school, work, and family obligations right now, I know I am ready to take on that next opportunity. Whatever that opportunity to volunteer will be, I am ready to lose myself in service to others again. If money were not an issue, I would get more time to give myself the chance to love myself in more service to others.

Sweet 16 and never been...umm...married? I certainly failed at the "sweet 16 and never been kissed". Blowing out my candles at 8 months pregnant felt very much like a failure. I was a child myself. How was I going to raise a child? I had not even finished high school and certainly did not have any goals for the future for myself. Now I would have to plan for this little human being due to come in a month. I would definitely need to make some plans for a better life than what was possible under this circumstance. Following my son's birth, I decided to return to high school so I could finish my junior year and then graduate the following year. Despite the school administration's strong suggestions, I was going to attend school following having been homeschooled during my pregnancy. I was not ashamed of being a mother and I was going to prove to all the naysayers that I would rise above this situation and make something of myself. The first thing I did was to meet with my guidance counselor. Through him, I was able to secure a part-time position as a library clerk. This job allowed me to attend school part-time after school and make some money. While this took time away from my son, it allowed me some spending money to buy him the things he needed. My hard work paid off after three months in the job and they offered me a full-time position. I was able to go on work-study so I could attend school minimally and work daily during school hours and into the evening. I became the youngest library clerk and was able to take my son and I off receiving state welfare. This was pretty amazing for a young mother who had not come from much. During this time, I met a man who accepted my son and me as one package deal. Through him, I learned that there was so much more to life than just working. Despite the fact that I liked my library job, I knew I would have to go to college. This was not something ever discussed in my family and it certainly was not a goal of mine growing up. How could I ever imagine attending college? Yet, here I was filling out the application to a local community college. When my son was four years old, I started taking classes. I had decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I left the library to take a position as a preschool teacher. He was identified as a struggling learner in kindergarten. My coursework changed to special education, not only so I could help him through school but also help other children who found learning challenging. Fast forward to many years later. That boy went on to graduate high school and college. And now I am pursuing a doctorate in education. Not too bad for a girl who failed to be a teenager.

Being 16 and pregnant, and then a mom is by far the biggest misfit time of my life. This is not to say that I have not had many moments where I fit the misfit category because I have. However, being a teenager certainly made me not suited for my situation. My family was made up of workers. We did not have dreams of grandeur. College? That was for other people. We just worked. And that is what I did. With the help of a school guidance counselor, I was helped to secure a work-study job after school. This would mean relying on my parents to watch my son so I could attend school part-time and work full-time. This was definitely not easy and it cost me time with my son when he was little. Yet I knew it was important to lead us to a better situation. Finding special moments every day was important. I was determined to help my son adjust to our situation, knowing I needed to stay focused on something better. It was not easy for him at times. He was the son of "that girl" that had a baby at sixteen. I knew I had a long road ahead of me to fit better in life. Graduating high school gave me so much more time for my boy. The naysayers continued to look down on me that I could not be a good parent and rise above my situation. My son grew and brought such joy to my life. During this time I met a man - a college graduate! He showed me that I could dream the impossible dream and be better than my misfit life. College! Yes, I would go to college. This meant more time away from my boy again. This meant finding more creative ways to help my son not feel like a misfit himself. It was even more important to find ways to help him adjust to the circumstances of our situation. Through all these moments of difficulty, I was blessed with people who believed in me. These people, mostly teachers, showed me that, despite my circumstances as a teenager, I could and would be able to achieve great things. I needed to believe in myself as they believed in me. Fast forward to the current day. No longer do I feel like a misfit. I have adjusted. I am suited to my situation. All those years of not feeling like I fit brought me to a sense of belonging like no other. I have a great job, a home I love, and friends and family that are central to my life. And I still dream. My current dream is to finish the doctoral program I started three years ago. Can you believe I am going to be a doctor? My goal with this degree is to support new special education teachers as they start out their careers in the field of education. I look forward to securing a position at the college level, teaching future special educators how to believe in themselves and support their students. If I could become a success with all the challenges laid before me, so can others. I believe if it were not for some pretty amazing people, I would have given up on dreams many times. Now it is my turn to provide that support for others. I believe when we believe in ourselves, we can change the world. As for my son, he went on to graduate college, get married, buy a house, and find a job he loves. In education! My son trains former inmates and formerly homeless people to become chefs. He instills a belief in others that they can do great things and he is helping to change the world along with me.

Willie Nelson said, "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." This could not be more true for me. In 2004, I had my first special education teaching job in a public school setting. It was a challenging year and I knew this school district was not right for me partway through the year. I stuck it out and made the best I could of the year, but the difficulties made for a very long year. One bright spot that school year was meeting Andrea Polley, a general education teacher in my building. We bonded over the difficulties we had that year and often would seek each other out during prep time. Little did I know that for many years to come, this woman would become my friend, my rock, and, at times, my source of strength. Andrea and I learned we had a great deal in common. One commonality was our commitment to the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. Andrea's father and brother were survivors and so was my brother. Throughout that school year, we would talk about Relay activities and share fundraising ideas. We also participated in a Relay For Life event. At the end of that school year, we both went different ways. However, we remained connected through social media. Over the years, Andrea and I would run into each other at different local Relays or in town, as we both now were residents of the same community. We would pick up wherever we left off as if time had stopped during our absences. In 2012, I decided to start a new Relay For Life in our town. As Committee Chairperson, my very first call was to Andrea, inviting her to be on my committee. Without hesitation, she agreed and took up the role of Activities Chairperson. Over several months, the Committee worked tirelessly to create an event that to honor cancer survivors, memorialize those who had lost their cancer battle, and work hard to fight for further cancer research. The work was hard and at times brought doubt. However, Andrea never waived in her faith in the Committee or in my vision. "Breathe" and "Believe" became her mantras to me each time I thought this Relay might not be possible. Andrea's words of encouragement and positive affirmations helped our Committee successfully run this first-year Relay For Life that raised $32,000! All the doubt was for nothing. Were it not for Andrea, I think I would have thrown in the towel a few times. She instilled a belief that we could continue this effort. And continue we did. Over the next six years, we returned as a Relay Committee and fought the war against cancer. Each year our Relay great bigger and better. Proudly, over the seven years, we raised over $400,000! Breathe and Believe. That is what we did, all due to Andrea's belief in my vision and our mission. She remains one of the many blessings I count every day.

Currently, I am working towards a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Supervision. This will help me support future special education teachers as they work towards securing their careers in the field. My goal is to teach special education and supervise practicum students at the college level. I know my college supervisors were vital in helping guide me along the path of my career in education and they made a difference to how I am as an educator. The grant would allow me to take a Grant Writing course, a goal I have always had. Being a special education teacher is so rewarding, but can be costly when you are passionate about investing in student learning. Having spent a lot of my own money over the years on my classroom and students, I know the importance of writing a good grant that helps educators purchase items to use for struggling learners. I have been fortunate enough to have someone help me with a grant to allow my students tools for the classroom and even for a field trip. I look forward to helping future students gain funding through grants so that they do not spend their hard-earned money on material.