I am pursuing a career in Special Education because of the passion I found early in life from my brother. Before my brother was born, I was excited to teach him and help him with homework. I always loved to help people, but it grew rapidly. As an older sister and someone who loves working with children, I became babysitter for almost any child. I really kicked my passion in gear when I applied for a volunteer job at a local Summer Fun (aka a day summer camp). I was able to work on my communication, leadership, organization, and creative skills. Most importantly, I discovered the feeling of fulfillment. I began to see my teachers differently from then on. I did already think of teachers as wonderful people who have a lot of work on their plates, but I also realized that teachers have more than physical work. It's teachers having the knowledge to teach, the voice to keep the students' attention, the hours put in and out of the classroom, and the hardships they have with an imbalance of the pay to work and effort ratio. It encouraged me to talk to my teachers more, ask them how their day was, and be more understanding. I do hope they understood what I understood because I feel that they some of them really needed a moment of ease. I have many teachers who impacted my life, too many to pick one. I'd like start with my 5th grade teacher, Mr. H. He's one of the first teachers that I considered to be exceptionally supportive, kind, and all around fun! He made classroom time not as stressful. I remember there were times where he'd let us lay our heads down in the dark with windows open and fans on. There was a time in class where I was hanging out at his table. I was him while a couple of students would come and go. During that time, we were learning how to multiply fractions, I believe. He noticed that I had gotten really fast when solving those types of equations, and he asked me if I wanted to learn something slightly harder: Dividing fractions. I gladly took him up on his offer, and before I knew it, I was able to divide fractions with ease. Next, I have two math teachers that have similar ideals. Mr. Mac and Ms. T were some of the kindest souls I've met (in terms of teachers). They are truly teachers with passion and a strong will. What made them similar was the opportunities they gave. They were both generous enough to give make-up tests and extra time during office hours. They allowed plenty of time at the end of classes for students to ask questions. Many loved them, whether it was their kindness that many students didn't deserve, work they displayed, or how they fought for their students. They were both teachers I went to when I had troubles as well, which made me feel safe at school. Finally, I had a professor last semester, Ms. O. She taught a Global History on Disabilities class. She was the type of teacher to encourage deep talks in class and she would comment on my Google Docs as if we were having a deep conversation about my research. She made all of us feel like our work and thoughts were important, and could lead to a lot more. Personally, I became more confident in my work. It's teachers like these that create passionate, hard-working students. For me, it helped me find my way to teaching.

My pursuit to become a Special Education teacher stemmed from early in my childhood, specifically from my brother. Even before my brother was born, I knew that I wanted to teach him all the basics and help him with homework as he got older. At first, I may have been seen as someone that always likes to help, but it grew into working with children and teaching over time. I practice my teaching and leadership skills at my summer job, which I used to have a volunteer position at due to still being a minor at the time. My brother is also the reason I learned so much about the Special Education system and disabilities. He was diagnosed with a severe case of autism at the age of two. From there, I got to see him and many other Special Education students flourish into better versions of themselves, thanks to teachers and parents supporting them all the way. By the time senior year of high school came around, I realized that I wanted a teaching career of some sort, even if it didn't pay as much as a doctor per se. Yet, I didn't care about the paycheck. Although money is important for living, I needed a career that was fulfilling for me. Working with children is the tip of the iceberg. Helping children with disabilities learn and evolve called to me in a way that I had only felt at my summer job: Through extreme passion and hope. Hope, as in: I hope that I can make an impact in their lives, even if it's the smallest thing. Like Ms. Fouke, I am passionate about what I do and what I want to do. I want to help mold the minds of the future generation(s) to create a better world and better people. It would also make me so happy to help those who are like my brother, as I know how hard it is in this life to have a disability. I've seen my brother struggle throughout his life. He learned how to socialize like his peers. He was taught to understand that classwork assigned as homework doesn't mean failure to accomplish the task. My dad taught him to play basketball and run some track events. He has come such a long way, and it brings me to tears as not just his older sister, but also as a person in general. To be honest, I'm also pondering the thought of doing a dual certification for general and special education because my original passion was to simply be an elementary school general-education teacher. Either way, I will still pursue Special Education and learning skills that will advance my knowledge in that department. Currently, I'm learning simple ASL from a recommended app from a friend and hoping to successfully register for ASL I this upcoming school year. Maybe even someday, I'd like to learn braille as well. Additionally, I'm in a class called "Foundations in Inclusive Schooling." Our final project for this class allows us to choose a public place and make it inclusive for one disability. I claimed the topic for a classroom being inclusive to students with visual impairments, as I have always wanted to explore what the best design for a classroom would be for many disabilities. To put it simply, teaching and children have always been a part of my life, and I have worked hard to keep pursuing this passion through multiple aspects of my life. Thank you for your time, and I hope you will consider me for this scholarship.

My name is Jessica Lee, I'm a Freshman at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and I was born and raised on O'ahu. I was on the President's List at my high school almost every semester, I ran cross country all throughout high school and track since 10th grade, I was in a few clubs such as Japanese club, and I gave back to my class by volunteering to be part of committees for formal class events. This would include Sophomore Banquet and Junior Prom. During the summer, I have volunteered at local Summer Fun programs for three years and was given the opportunity to move up to a paid position this last summer. For clarification, Summer Fun is like a summer camp, but only during the day. This program has been my second home since 2019. The volunteer position watches groups of kids (ages 5 to 12) with the assistance of teenage volunteers, or Junior Leaders. I was a Junior Leader and I learned valuable lessons from both places about responsibility, teamwork, and creativity. This past summer, the paid position was for Group Leaders, who are in charge of a group of kids and have assistance from Junior Leaders that are assigned to them. From there, I learned to improve skills like organization, adapting, and leadership. With any task, I put in my best effort. I take pride in my work at my job, in school, for my side projects, and my training in high school. My summer job means everything to me because of the community and lessons I learned there, and although school is not always the most exciting thing, I'm ready to reach for A's and hold myself accountable for my grades. My side projects get the upmost attention when I have time to pursue it after my school endeavors. For some context about my sports "career" in high school, I'm considered someone who doesn't exactly have the ideal genes for running. Still, I started training much harder than all of my teammates since 10th grade. From there, my progress grew exponentially! I'm still proud of myself today. I try to maintain what I have as I make my way through college, but I also exercise because it makes me feel better. Lifting weights is the main thing that helps me on hard, not-so-happy days. It makes me feel strong and productive. Scholarships have been giving my family some peace of mind by covering the fees for dorming and a meal plan. My parents have anticipated the potential financial challenges of college. Due to my parents’ hard-working mindset, they've done their best to save and provide for me and my brother. There were many hardships that have changed our financial plans over time, such as unexpected incidents where we are forced to spend a significant amount of money. With these external variables, I was almost forced into staying home instead of receiving the opportunity to dorm. The bill piled up to a significant amount of money, surprising me and my family. This past school year, our saving grace has been a Merit Scholarship and another scholarship from my mom’s workplace. The money from these scholarships has been covering the cost of dorming on campus and having a standard meal plan. Knowing that those two hefty costs are paid for with scholarships has relieved stress on us. Dorming isn't just about freedom, but about becoming my own person and making college life easier. Those goals have been reached and I hope to be able to keep my scholarships and obtain more, guaranteeing my education and dorming opportunities.

My career of choice is to be a Special Education teacher, specializing in Severe Disabilities/Autism in elementary school. When I think about what has led me on this path, I think of it as life sending me signs for as long as I can remember. It definitely started when my mother was pregnant with my brother. I was ecstatic to have a sibling, not just because I wanted someone to play with. My first thought was about teaching him his ABC's and 123's. I was ready to be the best big sister ever, the best role model for him. I knew from that moment that I wanted a profession in education, or a career that helps people simply through assistance or teaching. Little did I know, my brother's diagnosis for severe autism would change my whole life. My brother, diagnosed at the age of two, shaped me and my family's lives. It opened our eyes to the disability community, specifically intellectual disabilities. He was placed into the Special Education program at his school, where we got to see other kids similar to him. They can be shy, or scream until they get their blanket. At first, drop-off was chaos. You can tell the parents are at a loss. Their children work in a way that they were not prepared for. My father though was two steps ahead. He took the time to understand my brother and realized that giving him water on the way to the classroom helped him adjust to the transition of home to school. The other parents quickly caught on and found success in similar ways. The teachers were amazed and ended up learning many valuable lessons from my father for the next five years or so. At the same time, I was learning more about children and disabilities on the regular. I would interact with my brother, his classmates, kids of family friends we know, and children I watched during my Summer Fun days. From this, I learned that no matter if someone is neurodivergent or neurotypical, everyone is learns and processes differently. For example, a teacher may need to explain an activity through visuals and verbally instead of just verbal instructions. Or a child with an intellectual disability may need a different analogy to understand how to play basketball. My father has spent a significant amount of his time helping my brother, whether it was school or socializing. He struggled with socializing the most. His brain could process solid facts, but socialization was more complicated and therefore was harder for him to understand. With time, he became a bright, athletic, happy kid who now has friends coming to his pool birthday party to play with water gun, pool noodles, and inflatables. From my father's example and my pursuit to help people, it led me to my volunteer job of three years at the City and County of Honolulu's Summer Fun Program. As a volunteer, to put it simply, I assisted my assigned group leader with activities, watching children, and minor staff tasks. My passion for children flourished through this program, especially my last year of volunteering at a different location. My communication skills, patience, and hard-work ethic grew significantly and led to me taking on a paid role in their program, where I continued to learn this past summer. It was much harder with many more responsibilities, but I love how it kept me on my toes! I have experiences under my belt since I was at least eight years old. It is a huge part of my life and something that drives me everyday.