I’m definitely a people person. So it’s no surprise that I tend to be fairly involved in quite a few extracurriculars. I spent a lot of time in my community but I didn’t spend much time serving them. It wasn’t until recently that my heart was changed into one with a servant mindset. I’ve known Jesus my whole life. But I never truly had a relationship with Him that actually led to a change in my life. When I finally made the conscious decision to follow Jesus and surrender my life to Him, it opened up a window of service opportunities for me. And my life was transformed into one with a servants heart. Before surrendering my life to Jesus, I was already fairly involved in my community. I did sports, partook in city events, but I never really served my community. After having graduated from high school, I decided to commit to being a small group leader for a group of middle school girls because of an experience on missions trip in Zuni New Mexico. Here I got to experience what it was like to teach a classroom full of middle schoolers. I jumped into this opportunity first because it seemed fun. However, after having been impacted by the fullness of God, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t rushing into anything that wasn’t God’s will for my life. So after spending a lot of time in prayer over where I should devote my time, I felt a ton of peace with continuing in my position as a small group leader. The craziest part about this journey is that the girls I was supporting and pouring into began to notice a change in me. Before that time I had been trying and trying to be encouraging to them as well as give them wisdom, but there was always something missing. It wasn’t until I surrendered fully to Jesus that these things started flowing naturally—and my girls noticed! They started asking questions as to what led to my switch in the way I acted and behaved and I was able to point it all back to Jesus. Now I’m still serving on the youth, and am actively involved in their lives. I love supporting them at their games, their cheer practices, and meeting up with them to just catch up. I see each of my girls as a family and encourage them daily to do the same to one another. From my experience I’ve seen how modeling sacrifice has impacted the way they interact with others. And over the years I’ve loved seeing each of my girls mature and grow as a person, socially, physically, and spiritually. I couldn’t be more proud of who they are and am excited to continue pouring into them throughout the next four years.

from a young age I’ve always known I wanted to be a teacher. During recess I loved using my imagination to transport me into my own classroom where I was teaching all of my friends. As I got older, this dream was starting to become a reality. I realized I had a knack for teaching and that I even enjoyed it. Now, in my senior year of college, this dream is closer than ever. I’m currently in my last year at Biola University, studying to be an elementary school teacher. Alongside of being fairly involved within my church community—-I’m currently in my 3rd year of being a small group leader to, now, freshman girls——I’ve also maintained a cumulative 3.7 GPA, while regularly taking 16+ units a semester, and working 14 hours a week at an elementary school where I’ve learned how to apply a lot of the practical knowledge I’ve learned at Biola into a classroom setting. This semester alone I’ll be taking 19 units, while also working as a teachers aid to a kindergarten class where I work 14 hours a week. Although I’m a bit nervous for how busy this will make me, I’ve had this schedule before my freshman year. During my freshman year I was balancing work, school, and being a youth leader, alongside of being active in my schools missions conference (a school wide bible conference put on entirely by student volunteers. I realized during this time that I needed to make certain things a priority in order to ensure I could still do all that I had committed to. In all I was doing, I wanted to make sure I was putting in my best effort. My fear that was in volunteering for too much I’d either get burnt out or fail to commit my best effort to either of these important areas. In order to overcome this scheduling obstacle, I had to asses where I was going to commit my time. As I was making my schedule, I realized that school and work were a priority, which meant that my time commitment to volunteer work would have to be lessened so that I could excel in each of these areas of life. After having set aside these priorities I was able to still excel in all of these various extracurriculars while maintaining enough rest to not be burnt out. It was also helpful to have a community of friends that helped encourage me, help me with my schoolwork for needed, and reminded me to prioritize rest. I owe of my success to them. Even in the midst of their own busyness they always encouraged me to reach out to them and rely on them for help. I remember a few nights where I would be so exhausted from work that some of my college roomates would help me with my meal prep for the next day. Without my friends, I doubt I would’ve been able to commit to all of these different extracurriculars. Their support was vital to my success and I’m vary grateful for them.

When I was in middle school I heard that many songwriters started their music career playing guitar. And it was then that I decided that I was going to buy myself a guitar. That weekend, I put all my babysitting money together and found a guitar listed on ebay. And from that point on, I started learning. I’ve had some on and off seasons, but when I needed it most, my guitar has always been a tool used to encourage me in my faith. Especially during my first few years of college, I relied heavily on my guitar for my songwriting. As I began learning about the character and majesty of God, I found it appropriate to write songs reflecting my love for Him. My guitar has been a huge part of my spiritual journey. And as I have become more familiar with the instrument I’ve had opportunities to help lead worship, within bible study settings, and even at my house church when the occasion calls for it. Worship is one of my favorite ways to honor God. It gives me an opportunity to proclaim the majesty and awesomeness of my creator—and music has always been an easy way for me to connect with and draw near to God. And ever since I’ve had my guitar, I’ve had easy access to enter into that special secret place with God—and have even had opportunities to share it with others. Worship is truly the best way to give glory to our God who is deserving of all of our praise and more. Making “a joyful noise unto the Lord” is why we are encouraged to engage with God throughout the Psalms, and ascribe what is due to Him. Helping lead people into this heart posture of undignified humility before God is truly why we worship. We worship God because He is worthy. We worship Him because it is what we were made to do. We worship Him because He is out delight.

Students will either live up to, or down to the expectations set before them. In a classroom students need someone who can support them in their learning in a way that is best for them. Many students learn in various ways. Some learn best through movement, others with visuals. It’s a teacher’s job to accommodate the needs of the students and create an environment that is best for them. They need a teacher who can support their needs. As a student teacher in the classroom, I’ve seen firsthand how the lack of support can affect a child. With one boy in particular I remember I was asked to help one of the more ‘rowdy’ students–according to his teacher– finish his reading assignment. While his initial ‘failed’ attempt at his assignment was dismissed as laziness, there was a deeper issue at hand. When I sat down and talked with this student (we can call him Charlie), I was able to hear his reasoning, and what he said broke my heart. When asked why he wouldn’t do the assignment he told me it was because he “wasn’t smart enough” to do it because that's what “everyone says about [him].” Kids are very observant. Even if one never outright says they don’t believe in you, they can read your body language. In Charlie’s case, it’s evident that somewhere along the way he was told he “wasn’t smart enough” and these words had the power to crush his self esteem. From the outside Charlie’s behavior seemed like laziness, but really there was a deeper issue at hand. Charlie wasn’t getting the support he needed. In fact, it was the lack of support he received that made learning so difficult for him. As a teacher, I want to help students like Charlie who may need extra support in their learning. I want to give every child an equal opportunity to learn to the best of their abilities. As a teacher, I strive to teach in a way with patience and understanding and accommodate the needs of the various students in the classroom–especially those with autism. It’s important as a teacher to understand that students are never to be considered a problem, because more often that behavior is instead caused by a problem that they’re having. This mentality is super important to have as a teacher as it gives you the patience and mental capacity to take on the day. As a teacher, I will do my utmost best to provide equal opportunities for learning for every child in my classroom. I plan to create an environment that supports not only the academic needs of child but also their physical and social-emotional needs as well. That is my job as a teacher after all, to support the growth of my students in any way possible.

A good class isn't determined by the subject matter, but rather by the person who teaches the class. The teacher and the environment they create can overall make or break the spirit of a student. Ironically, for me, one of my least favorite subjects became the focus of one of my favorite classes, because of how understanding, patient, and excited the teacher was about the subject matter of Physics. He did his overall best to make the class fun and he made me excited to learn about solving crazy equations. As an elementary school teacher, I hope to inspire joy in the next generation, in every aspect of learning, just like how my Physics teacher did for me. I hope to make learning fun and overall encourage children to exercise their curiosity and explore different ways of learning. I've already had some experience in helping kids with their schoolwork. As a babysitter, I'll often help the kids I babysit with their homework and will help guide them through their studies when they lose motivation or struggle to understand the subject matter. My favorite part of babysitting is seeing the excitement from kids when they finally begin to understand the subject matter. When they better understand what they're learning, it's easier for them to be excited about learning and it's easier for me to help make their learning more enjoyable. As a teacher pursuing a career in Elementary Education, I'm most excited to see the growth of students and I hope to ignite within them a joy of learning. I hope to make it exciting and create an environment where they can feel comfortable asking questions. I want to create an atmosphere where they step outside of their comfort zone and exercise their curiosity. And I overall hope that every student would leave the classroom feeling like their opinion matters and is important. I hope to establish good relationships with the students and make each of them feel loved and appreciated for all of their hard work in class.