I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one specific event or experience that led me to want to become a teacher. My desire to teach has been ingrained in me since I was little. I know it’s not really possible, but we often joke that it was passed down through our family tree since we have several teachers in the family. For as long as I can remember, my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always been, “a teacher!” I loved setting up my playroom at home to look like a classroom and pretending to teach my friends. I was always the teacher, never the student (sorry to those who played). When I started going to school, I would ask my teachers for extra worksheets, so I had “real” teaching supplies to use in my pretend classroom. As my friends outgrew playing school, I started begging my younger cousins and my brother to be my students. I loved passing on the information I had learned from my teachers to younger kids who hadn’t started school yet. Fast forward to high school, and that desire has never gone away. I’ve done everything I can to set myself up for a future in education. I am really lucky my school has classes to help steer kids towards teaching. During my sophomore year, I took Psychology of Children, which gave me a better understanding of the behavioral habits of young kids. I loved that class and knew I was headed in the right direction. The following year, I took a class called Teacher Academy and spent a full semester working in a kindergarten classroom, where I was assigned my own small reading group. This year, I’m taking Teacher Academy II and have spent the semester helping in a first-grade classroom. It’s been so much fun, and I’ve even gotten to see some of the kids I worked with last year and how much they’ve grown. On the days I’m not in the first-grade classroom, I volunteer in the GRADS room at our school. GRADS is a program where district employees and student parents can bring their children, from six months to kindergarten age, for childcare. It’s been exciting to work with a new age group and see the effort that goes into preparing preschoolers for kindergarten. It’s also convinced me that the 1st grade is where I should be. Next year, I will be attending Eastern Washington University. The school was formerly known as Eastern Washington State College of Education, so it feels like the perfect fit for me. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the support of some amazing teachers who helped reinforce my desire to teach, and I feel they deserve a shoutout. Two teachers who really stand out to me are from fourth and seventh grade. My fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Adams, was supportive, understanding, calm, and extremely patient. My seventh-grade math teacher, Ms. Hulford, was energetic, encouraging, and incredibly passionate about her job. These two teachers demonstrated the traits I hope to bring to my own classroom. I want to leave a positive and lasting impression on the kids I’m lucky enough to teach.

I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one specific event or experience that led me to want to become a teacher. My desire to teach has been ingrained in me since I was little. I know it’s not really possible, but we often joke that it was passed down through our family tree since we have several teachers in the family. For as long as I can remember, my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always been, “a teacher!” I loved setting up my playroom at home to look like a classroom and pretending to teach my friends. I was always the teacher, never the student (sorry to those who played). When I started going to school, I would ask my teachers for extra worksheets, so I had “real” teaching supplies to use in my pretend classroom. As my friends outgrew playing school, I started begging my younger cousins and my brother to be my students. I loved passing on the information I had learned from my teachers to younger kids who hadn’t started school yet. Fast forward to high school, and that desire has never gone away. I’ve done everything I can to set myself up for a future in education. I am really lucky my school has classes to help steer kids towards teaching. During my sophomore year, I took Psychology of Children, which gave me a better understanding of the behavioral habits of young kids. I loved that class and knew I was headed in the right direction. The following year, I took a class called Teacher Academy and spent a full semester working in a kindergarten classroom, where I was assigned my own small reading group. This year, I’m taking Teacher Academy II and have spent the semester helping in a first-grade classroom. It’s been so much fun, and I’ve even gotten to see some of the kids I worked with last year and how much they’ve grown. On the days I’m not in the first-grade classroom, I volunteer in the GRADS room at our school. GRADS is a program where district employees and student parents can bring their children, from six months to kindergarten age, for childcare. It’s been exciting to work with a new age group and see the effort that goes into preparing preschoolers for kindergarten. It’s also convinced me that the 1st grade is where I should be. Next year, I will be attending Eastern Washington University. The school was formerly known as Eastern Washington State College of Education, so it feels like the perfect fit for me. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the support of some amazing teachers who helped reinforce my desire to teach, and I feel they deserve a shoutout. Two teachers who really stand out to me are from fourth and seventh grade. My fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Adams, was supportive, understanding, calm, and extremely patient. My seventh-grade math teacher, Ms. Hulford, was energetic, encouraging, and incredibly passionate about her job. These two teachers demonstrated the traits I hope to bring to my own classroom. I want to leave a positive and lasting impression on the kids I’m lucky enough to teach.

I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one specific event or experience that led me to want to become a teacher. My desire to teach has been ingrained in me since I was little. I know it’s not really possible, but we often joke that it was passed down through our family tree since we have several teachers in the family. For as long as I can remember, my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always been, “a teacher!” I loved setting up my playroom at home to look like a classroom and pretending to teach my friends. I was always the teacher, never the student (sorry to those who played). When I started going to school, I would ask my teachers for extra worksheets, so I had “real” teaching supplies to use in my pretend classroom. As my friends outgrew playing school, I started begging my younger cousins and my brother to be my students. I loved passing on the information I had learned from my teachers to younger kids who hadn’t started school yet. Fast forward to high school, and that desire has never gone away. I’ve done everything I can to set myself up for a future in education. I am really lucky my school has classes to help steer kids towards teaching. During my sophomore year, I took Psychology of Children, which gave me a better understanding of the behavioral habits of young kids. I loved that class and knew I was headed in the right direction. The following year, I took a class called Teacher Academy and spent a full semester working in a kindergarten classroom, where I was assigned my own small reading group. This year, I’m taking Teacher Academy II and have spent the semester helping in a first-grade classroom. It’s been so much fun, and I’ve even gotten to see some of the kids I worked with last year and how much they’ve grown. On the days I’m not in the first-grade classroom, I volunteer in the GRADS room at our school. GRADS is a program where district employees and student parents can bring their children, from six months to kindergarten age, for childcare. It’s been exciting to work with a new age group and see the effort that goes into preparing preschoolers for kindergarten. It’s also convinced me that the 1st grade is where I should be. Next year, I will be attending Eastern Washington University. The school was formerly known as Eastern Washington State College of Education, so it feels like the perfect fit for me. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the support of some amazing teachers who helped reinforce my desire to teach, and I feel they deserve a shoutout. Two teachers who really stand out to me are from fourth and seventh grade. My fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Adams, was supportive, understanding, calm, and extremely patient. My seventh-grade math teacher, Ms. Hulford, was energetic, encouraging, and incredibly passionate about her job. These two teachers demonstrated the traits I hope to bring to my own classroom. I want to leave a positive and lasting impression on the kids I’m lucky enough to teach.

For as long as I can remember, my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always been, “a teacher!” I loved setting up my playroom room at home to be a classroom and pretending to teach my friends. Once I was old enough to be in school, I’d ask my teachers for extra worksheets so that I had “real” teaching supplies to play with. As my friends outgrew playing this with me, I started begging my younger cousins and brother to be my students. I loved passing down the information that I had learned from my teachers to younger kids that hadn’t been in school yet. Fast forward to high school, I’ve done everything I can to set myself up for a future in education. My sophomore year, I took Psychology of Children, which gave me a better understanding of behavioral habits of young kids. The following year, I took Teacher Academy and spent a semester working in a Kindergarten classroom, where I was assigned my own small reading group. This year, I’m in Teacher Academy Teacher II and currently I’m spending a semester helping in a 1st grade classroom. I’ve also spent several hours observing in multiple classrooms and grade levels and I love it! I feel like I am a good candidate for the scholarship because teaching is a career of passion over profit. I come from a family of educators and for as long as I can remember this is what I have wanted to do. I love working with kids in and out of the classroom and will continue with this enthusiasm for the rest of my life.

For as long as I can remember, my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always been, “a teacher!” I loved setting up my playroom room at home to be a classroom and pretending to teach my friends. Once I was old enough to be in school, I’d ask my teachers for extra worksheets so that I had “real” teaching supplies to play with. As my friends outgrew playing this with me, I started begging my younger cousins and brother to be my students. I loved passing down the information that I had learned from my teachers to younger kids that hadn’t been in school yet. Fast forward to high school, I’ve done everything I can to set myself up for a future in education. My sophomore year, I took Psychology of Children, which gave me a better understanding of behavioral habits of young kids. The following year, I took Teacher Academy and spent a semester working in a Kindergarten classroom, where I was assigned my own small reading group. This year, I’m in Teacher Academy Teacher II and currently I’m spending a semester helping in a 1st grade classroom. I’ve also spent several hours observing in multiple classrooms and grade levels. While I may not have had a lot of sacrifices on my way to college I have certainly dealt with some challenges. The first would be my struggles with math. I have always done excellent in my literacy and english classes, but unfortunately math has always been a struggle. My key to overcoming it was early recognition and a desire to strive for more. I work with a tutor 1-2 times a week and will continue to do so through the end of the school year. I do think that struggling in math will make me a better teacher. It has opened my eyes to the fact that not every kid will learn the same and that some kids require a different teaching strategy. My biggest personal hurdle by far was dealing with a sports injury halfway through my freshman year. Going into the state championship race I was diagnosed with a Hip Labrum tear. I was able to finish the season, including helping our team win the 2A state championship. After that race, I had to have it surgically repaired and started the long road to recovery. It was over 6 months before I was able to lightly run again and wouldn’t be able to race until the following fall. Missing my entire freshman track season was devastating, but I remained focused on my goal to come back stronger and faster than before. I have spent the last 3 seasons focusing on getting faster, stronger and remaining dedicated to the sports I love. This past November, I accomplished my dream of signing to run track and xc at Eastern Washington University for 2025.