My dream of becoming a special education teacher all started when I was in the sixth grade. When growing up, I always struggled academically with a learning disability. I struggled with reading comprehension and fluency.I started noticing I was different from my peers. I went to a different classroom for reading and I received speech support. The academics were difficult for me. To complete my homework, I would have to teach with a chalkboard to my mom. This allowed me to understand the steps and concepts I was learning in school. My teachers were very supportive, having secret signals to know I needed help, and supporting my strengths in dance. By the end of sixth grade, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. In eighth grade, my embarrassment increased having different art cycles for intervention and reading class. I remember I had a new teacher and he allowed me to attend my own IEP meeting at the beginning of the year. At the end, he asked if I wanted to add anything to the meeting. I stated," I don't want to go to high school with extra support and to be in regular classes". He mentioned how it will be a long hard road ahead if that is my goal. I worked extremely hard that year in all of my classes. I got re-evaluated during the springtime and I knew that was my chance. At our end-of-the-year IEP meeting, I was informed that I no longer qualified for services and would transition to full-time general education at the beginning of high school. I was so proud of myself that I reached my goal and knew I could reach anything I put my mind to. At the end of high school, I went to college with a semester already completed and the goal to become a special education teacher. My eighth-grade teacher will always be my mentor and inspiration to become the best teacher possible. Since no one in my family attended college, I felt very isolated during my first semester in college. I had no help to assist with the transition and had to learn a new routine for life and learning. I did not allow any of the challenges to break me down. I kept my goal in my head to ensure I made everyone proud and became the special education teacher I wanted. I have finally graduated college with honors. I went back to my community as a first-year Autistic Support teacher in the schools that raised me. Being able to come back is a dream come true. I can be the role model for my community that I had to look up to when I was younger. I just completed my first year of teaching and being provided this scholarship will allow me to continue my education and better myself for my students and my community. I want to continue to break the standards and show my students they can reach all of their goals.

Mental Health has always been a big part of my life. When growing up, I was a ballet dancer for a pre-professional company. I would dance 20 hours a week, travel for weeks over the summer for training, and perform various ballets. When you are dancing 20 hours a week, starting at your body and making "perfect" shapes it wears down the mentality of your body. When I was in 7th grade my therapist diagnosed my body problems as body dysmorphia. When looking in the mirror, I would see/visualize a different body. This body dysmorphia made me feel fat and imperfect. I would never be the best ballerina while being "fat". This led to an eating disorder, where I would count my calories and severely limit my food intake. Society can be very hard as well on teens that are growing and developing. I was bullied for my body type and for being the move-in student in my district. I would be judged for my outfits, the events going on in my life, who I was friends with, etc. All on top of my body dysmorphia and self-image struggle from my dream hobby. I was not able to cope or change to a growth mindset of thinking. The bullying escalated to the point my mom would have to come pick me up from school early, and answer my panic attacks in the bathroom phone calls. My family always made sure I knew I wasn't alone. My family, therapist, and inspiring teachers were the people who helped me keep going. They helped me see the light in the dark tunnel and the amazing future I had ahead of me. I am now a teacher in my school district where I can be the support person for students who may be struggling with anything. I want to be the light for future generations just like my old teachers. I have accepted and learned how to love who I am and what I look like. I am no longer dancing, I did need to close that chapter to ensure I can build a healthy relationship with food and the gym. Finding a healthy balance is super important to ensure I do not have flare-ups in my anxiety, body image issues, etc. I have met someone who has embraced my journey to learning to love myself. They are patient, positive, and an additional support person for me. Mental Health is super important for students who are developing. I want to be the teacher who creates a safe place where students can thrive. Where we cheer on their successes and growth. Ensuring that I know my classroom is a safe place when students are on their mental health journey allows me to know that these students have someone guiding them. My mental health journey has allowed me to go back to a "scary" place my school where I was bullied and felt alone and changed the relationship. The schools are my happy, dream career home. I am changing the relationship and making it positive for just not myself but for every student I work with. Some growth mindsets that I share with my students are " Think positive and positive things will happen". Yes, not everything will be positive but finding the light in the dark will help you stay on the right path through your tunnel. Lastly, Everything happens for a reason. My therapist said we might not know why things occur or be able to control what happens in our life but, just reminding us we are not seeing the whole picture yet and that is okay. Mental Health needs to be a priority in schools and I hope I am taking my school in the right step towards supporting these future generations.

Mental Health has always been a big part of my life. When growing up, I was a ballet dancer for a pre-professional company. I would dance 20 hours a week, travel for weeks over the summer for training, and perform various ballets. When you are dancing 20 hours a week, starting at your body and making "perfect" shapes it wears down the mentality of your body. When I was in 7th grade my therapist diagnosed my body problems as body dysmorphia. When looking in the mirror, I would see/visualize a different body. This body dysmorphia made me feel fat and imperfect. I would never be the best ballerina while being "fat". This led to an eating disorder, where I would count my calories and severely limit my food intake. Society can be very hard as well on teens that are growing and developing. I was bullied for my body type and for being the move-in student in my district. I would be judged for my outfits, the events going on in my life, who I was friends with, etc. All on top of my body dysmorphia and self-image struggle from my dream hobby. I was not able to cope or change to a growth mindset of thinking. The bullying escalated to the point my mom would have to come pick me up from school early, and answer my panic attacks in the bathroom phone calls. My family always made sure I knew I wasn't alone. My family, therapist, and inspiring teachers were the people who helped me keep going. They helped me see the light in the dark tunnel and the amazing future I had ahead of me. I am now a teacher in my school district where I can be the support person for students who may be struggling with anything. I want to be the light for future generations just like my old teachers. I have accepted and learned how to love who I am and what I look like. I am no longer dancing, I did need to close that chapter to ensure I can build a healthy relationship with food and the gym. Finding a healthy balance is super important to ensure I do not have flare-ups in my anxiety, body image issues, etc. I have met someone who has embraced my journey to learning to love myself. They are patient, positive, and an additional support person for me. Mental Health is super important for students who are developing. I want to be the teacher who creates a safe place where students can thrive. Where we cheer on their successes and growth. Ensuring that I know my classroom is a safe place when students are on their mental health journey allows me to know that these students have someone guiding them. My mental health journey has allowed me to go back to a "scary" place my school where I was bullied and felt alone and changed the relationship. The schools are my happy, dream career home. I am changing the relationship and making it positive for just not myself but for every student I work with. Some growth mindsets that I share with my students are " Think positive and positive things will happen". Yes, not everything will be positive but finding the light in the dark will help you stay on the right path through your tunnel. Lastly, Everything happens for a reason. My therapist said we might not know why things occur or be able to control what happens in our life but, just reminding us we are not seeing the whole picture yet and that is okay. Mental Health needs to be a priority in schools and I hope I am taking my school in the right step towards supporting these future generations.

My dream of becoming a special education teacher all started when I was in the sixth grade. When growing up, I always struggled academically with a learning disability. I struggled with reading comprehension and fluency. When I was in sixth grade, I started noticing I was different compared to my peers. I went to a different classroom for reading and I was pulled out for speech support. The academics in sixth grade were difficult for me. To be able to complete my homework, I would have to teach with a chalkboard and whiteboard to my mom. This allowed me to fully understand the steps and concepts I was learning in school. My teachers were very supportive, having secret signals to know I needed help, and supporting my strengths in dance and performance. By the end of sixth grade, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. In eighth grade, my embarrassment grew even more going to different art cycles for intervention and pull-out reading class. I remember I had a new teacher for eighth grade and he allowed me to attend my own IEP meeting at the beginning of the year. At the end, he asked if I wanted to add anything to the meeting. I stated, " I do not want to go to high school with any extra support and to be full-time in general education". He mentioned how it will be a long hard road ahead if that is my goal. I worked extremely hard that year in all of my classes. I got re-evaluated during the springtime and I knew that was my time to shine. At our end-of-the-year IEP meeting, I was informed that I no longer qualified for services and I would transition to full-time general education at the beginning of high school. I was so proud of myself that I reached my goal and knew I could reach anything I put my mind to. At the end of high school, I went to college with a semester already completed and the goal to become a special education teacher. My eighth-grade teacher will always be my mentor and inspiration to become the best teacher possible. Since no one in my family attended college, I felt very isolated during my first semester in college. I had no help to assist with the transition and had to learn a new routine for life and learning. I did not allow any of the challenges to break me down. I kept my goal in my head to ensure I made everyone proud and became the special education teacher I wanted. I have finally graduated college with honors. I went back to my community as a first-year Autistic Support teacher in the schools that raised me. Being able to come back is a dream come true. I can be the role model for my community that I had to look up to when I was younger. I just completed my first year of teaching and being provided this scholarship will allow me to continue my education and better myself for my students and my community. I want to continue to break the standards and show my students they can reach all of their goals. Going back for my Master's will allow me to show that to my community.