My passion for teaching did not come around until I started my Associate's Degree at Pitt Community College. Starting college, I was a Recreational Therapy major, and much of what I learned I was challenged to represent and teach my classmates through creating adaptive activities. That was my first time realizing how much I enjoyed teaching others how to navigate through their mental health. While obtaining my Associate degree, I took a few psychology classes and fell in love with the subject. Psychology has had a strong impact on my life since I was born. I was diagnosed with a rare ganglioglioma brain tumor when I was only a month old. As a child, I did not understand the depth of what I survived until I became an adult. When I transferred to East Carolina University for my Bachelor's degree in 2020, I majored in Psychology to dig deeper into the subject. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I became a voice for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. I have spoken to thousands of people, educating them on how challenging a brain tumor diagnosis is, my experience, and why it is important to raise funds for a cure. To this date, I have raised thousands of dollars to help find a cure as brain tumors are one of the deadliest forms of childhood cancer. During my final year at East Carolina in 2023, I realized I did not want to leave college. My professors made a lasting impact on my life, and I discovered that I wanted to make the same impact on other students. I took a gap year in 2024, applied to many graduate schools, and was excitedly accepted to every program I applied to. As of January 2025, I am now attending Louisiana State University- Shreveport online to obtain my Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Adult Education. I am also actively seeking career opportunities and internships in the Raleigh area through Wake Technical Community College, and NC State University. For me, the primary reason I want to become an educator is because teaching creates lasting impacts on the lives of others. So much of what we can teach students matters in ways that go beyond our daily interactions. What I want to achieve for myself is to have the ability to teach College Student Success which is a course designed for incoming freshmen to learn about personal development, as well as the college's academic resources, and physical and social environment. Throughout this course, I will have the opportunity to teach students study skills, goal-setting, time management, diversity, communication skills, and how to access resources for them to be successful. My goal for my students is that they learn tangible skills that will enable them to be successful wherever they choose to go in life. Plus, I can integrate what I have learned through my undergraduate degree in Psychology and use it in ways to help students navigate their mental health. College is a big shift in a young adult's life, and it can be overwhelming. However, "It is not what is poured into the student but what is planted that counts." -E.P. Bertin Thank you for the opportunity to apply to the Therese Ingelaere Memorial Scholarship.