As a first-year teacher, I have had to learn many tactics revolving around math. One of my main reasons for going into education is that learning has always been difficult for me to do something "one way". Math in particular was only taught to me one way. I learned during my whole college career about how to adapt learning to meet the needs of all students. Once I learned about different ways to teach and do math I have grown to find a love for it. It is not what you teach but more how you teach it. I have learned to teach math to my younger students using trees, breaking up numbers, and using fun colors just to name a few. I have also learned the importance of relating math to students. I can use the shows or interests of my students to make math more personable. For instance, if my students are really into lemonade we could set up a lemonade stand during math and figure out our budget. From there we need to figure out how many supplies we need along with the total cost of that. From there we can figure out what is the price point to sell our lemonade to make money. This allows my students to see math as a real-world application.

Listing 5 to 7 songs that describe the “vibes/mood” of their college experience so far 1. Piss Me off (Johnny 2 Phones) 2. Surface Pressure (Jessica Darrow) 3. Get'cha Head In the Game (Troy) 4. Having Our Way ( Migos feat. Drake) 5. Saturday Nights (Khalid) 6. Everybody Talks (Neon Trees) Title: Making it Through

I have always been drawn to working with students. It took me a while to figure out that teaching was what I wanted to do because I was first attracted to being a pediatrician. I have wanted to teach since being in eighth grade and have had a passion for it ever since. It wasn't until my placement in my junior year of college that I had the epiphany that "yes I am exactly where I need to be". My degree is in Inclusive Early Childhood Education meaning that I can work with children with and without disabilities from birth through third grade. I am currently placed in a full special education preschool. I was excited to be back in the classroom again after not being in one since my freshman year of college. But I did not think special education was the route I wanted to take. After being there a few months and it was the week before our break so I wasn't going to see the students for a month. The kids were laughing, singing, and dancing in music therapy. Just looking at them and thinking about the rapport I have built with them brought me to literal tears. I haven't felt more at home teaching than I did at that moment. There is something cool and special about being in an all-special needs classroom. Each child has different needs and different personalities. Every day is not easy but teaching is nothing like we see in the movies. It is all about the stories they tell me and how they invite me into their play. Many of my students are nonverbal and hearing one of them say my name for the first time was a bigger excitement in my heart than when I found out that I passed my special education test. It is all about the little things. I have another student who won't talk to many people but when she chose to speak to me I felt like that was such a big teacher win with her being able to open up to me. I work hard every day to be able to understand all the words they say but I struggle sometimes. Building that rapport with my students has led me to be a better educator. I have been able to use our relationships to decide what stories to read or what activites to put out. Teaching is all about knowing your students and the content is to follow after.

I am currently a junior studing Inclusive Early Childhood Education. This means that when I am out of college, I will be able to work with students in special education birth to three years old and regular education preschool to grade 3. I chose to go into the education field because I never had a teacher that looked like me. Although in my life I was fortunate enough that my parents put me in private schools my whole life to give me the education they both weren't able to recieve. I come from a family of divorce, so both school districts weren't the best setup for me to achieve all that they had setup for me. But I do understand now that there is so much credit that is due for those that teach in the public education system. For me, I got a more challenging and individualized attention in my education but I was lost in seeing someone like me. I did not have a teacher that looked like me until I was a freshman in college. Since then, I still haven't had one even in all of my student teaching experiences in all sorts districts. There were teachers of color in the building but I never worked with them. Going into college, I had this beautiful perfect view of the educational system that I quickly learned it is nothing like that. Since the pandemic has started, that has also affected my views on the educational system. Yes this is still a career I want to be in, but I am walking through each day with no idea how it's going to turn out. Many of my classmates have family members who are educators to learn on with any questions. I don't have that because no one in my family became teachers. I am only the second generation in my family to go to college. I am lucky enough for the opportunity through my mom to even be in college but my understanding of the field I am about to put myself in feels more like the deep end of the ocean. Right now I am working in a special education preschool classroom. The biggest lesson I have learned is the art of flexibility. Before this experience I would have ocnsidered myself a very rigid person (especially since being in college because I have managed to maintain a 3.7 since starting college and have always been on the Deans List). Everything needs to go a certain way and happen in a very specific order. Anyone that has every been around a preschooler knows that they are full of suprises and however you think an activity with them will go, somehow it will happen the opposite way. My Classroom Teacher has been a great help in guiding me through all my victories and fails but through all of this, I am making myself the teacher the younger me always wanted.

My greatest achievement was in high school during my junior year. . I had a 1.6 GPA on a 4.5 scale. I thought I could bring it up without help but not needing help lead me to pull myself down deeper into the hole. One day in the middle of the first semester my dean of students pulled me into her office telling me that I would essentially be pulled out of all extracurriculars because of my GPA. I was over halfway through production for a musical I was leading in, I had to pull out of being a Club officer, and I had to pull away from working more hours. I got a tutor and worked with teachers in the areas I struggled in. In m Math class, I had a 46% so I had to meet with her every Thursday before school. In my Chemistry class, I had a 57% so I saw her on Tuesdays. Along with an outside tutor twice a week. I was able to confidently ask questions in class and I felt empowered with my abilities to do better in all other subjects. After fully applying myself I saw results within a month and my mental health had gotten better. If my Junior year taught me anything it is to ask for help when you need it. Do not wait until it is too late to fix it because that could be the tipping point. I was lucky enough to have people that cared about me to watch and guide me. I hope in the future to offer that same support system as a teacher. I want children to be able to look back on me and think about how I was able to help them when they were down and at their lowest.

Joy is about doing something to make you happy. Being a junior in college during a pandemic you don't get a lot of time for self-care. I wish I could take a whole day off once a week for this but it feels like more of just me playing catchup with myself. People say that if you don't take time for self-care it will make time for you. Each day I find self-care in taking just thirty minutes every day right before bed to do this. This is my time to get comfortable and be on my social media apps winding down for the day. Taking this time allows me to go from my high energy day, social life, and academic life to just be me. I wish I could be one of those people who in the morning get up early and take that time to do yoga but that is not me. I'm more of measuring down to the minute I need to wake up and get up then. I feel like if I added this time to my morning routine I wouldn't get a lot of sleep because I set aside some time every night. It has helped my life for the better. I find that taking some extra time at night vs taking extra time in the morning is better for my mental health.

"It's not how you start, it is how you finish. I would pick this as my sentence because I need to remember this too. Since being in school I have contemplated switching to three different majors. I instantly wanted to shut down and give up. My worry was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life but if switching majors would throw me behind academically. I had to remind myself that it is not how you finish it is that you did finish. After this whirlwind of a few days I decided to stick with the major that I am in because it aligns better with that I want to do.

My legacy would be trusted. There's one thing that I believe in any type of friendship or relationship is the idea of trust. I pride myself on being an open, fun, and honest person. If others reciprocate the same, then I see a long-lasting bond forever. I have been friends with others for over fourteen years and the reason the friendship is so strong is that there is a foundation of trust. Once I have seen that the foundation is cracked beyond repair I can not put myself back in that friendship wholeheartedly. For me it is not a one and done friendship I will try my best to work at it but if the same energy is not reciprocated then I am out. But if that bond is strong I intend to check on you and build upon what we have built for the rest of our lives. I would rather see someone leave in peace and quietly watch their success than wish them bad luck in life.

One thing I have learned about myself that is valuable is the power of self-worth and boundaries. I have had some trouble in the last few years learning about myself and my boundaries. With the help of myself, friends, and my boyfriend I have learned the art of saying 'no' and my boundaries. If you don't teach others your boundaries they will push you to see how far they can get. If something bothers me I have learned to go from not lashing out and ignoring the comments to saying something about it. Learning your boundaries has helped you understand what things you do and do not like people doing. For me I have learned that I don't like it when I am randomly touched by people I am not close with. Those who respect my boundaries also let others know when they first meet me which makes me happy because it feels like I am being listened to.

Time to myself makes me happy. There are many things in the world that bring me joy like ice cream, sushi, the sun, summertime, and working towards being a better teacher for my student. But I can't enjoy those things if I am not taking time each week to do something I love by myself. It's hard to not get caught up in the hustle of daily activities. Getting sleep also makes me happy so I feel rested for the day and not sleepy. I feel more engaged teaching when I am not sleepy and taking care of my personal health. Even when I'm out of college I want to remind myself that self-care is important. You cannot take care of everyone else if you do not take care of yourself. This was not a concept that is talked about enough until college. In the classrooms, we are starting to implement at a young age about recognizing one's own emotions but we also need to teach this to our children.

I chose the song "A-O-K" by Tia Verdes. I listen to this song every morning on the way to my student teaching. My college experience has been nothing but twists, turns, and surprises. I can't believe in all this craziness I am already a junior in college. Listening to this song helps me remember that everything is going to be ok. It is hard for college students to take a moment and remember that all will be fine when they are in immense chaos. I like to describe it as a controlled panic. This is much like working with preschoolers. Every day brings new and varying levels of difficulties in the classroom. I had prepared for a week to start teaching in person but then we got moved to online for a week. Just like they say in the song "Living in this big blue world with my head up in outer space I know I'll be A-O-K." I have to remember to get out of my head about this year and take some deep breaths to remember that all will be good and I don't need to panic about every minor inconvenience in life.

Self-care is a term all about how one takes care of oneself. Being a junior in college during a pandemic you don't get a lot of time for self-care. I wish I could take a whole day off once a week for this but it feels like more of just me playing catchup with myself. People say that if you don't take time for self-care it will make time for you. Each day I find self-care in taking just thirty minutes every day right before bed to do this. This is my time to get comfortable and be on my social media apps winding down for the day. Taking this time allows me to go from my high energy day, social life, and academic life to just be me. I wish I could be one of those people who in the morning get up early and take that time to do yoga but that is not me. I'm more of measuring down to the minute I need to wake up and get up then. I feel like if I added this time to my morning routine I wouldn't get a lot of sleep because I set aside some time every night. It has helped my life for the better. I find that taking some extra time at night vs taking extra time in the morning is better for my mental health.

I can't keep a growth mindset. I am learning on fixing that. In this day people always want to tell you about all the things they have going on for them that they are doing right. A successful career, a family, money, love, etc. But we never talk about the things in life we are struggling with. I feel like since being in college during a pandemic my outlook on life has been dimmed. I feel like every day is like the day before just with a new date. But since starting my junior year and being able to be out in the field with children (which I am loving) I am starting to see some positives. Now every day isn't always about the good things that go on in the classroom because there are bad. But I just feel like now I can see myself in my teachers' position. I can see myself understanding what I am working so hard for. Every day is a chance to learn a new skill or classroom management technique. My motivation to learn is what keeps my growth mindset.

Being patient is important to understanding the whole story. Before studying education I felt that I had a low tolerance for others who weren't quick with things. I went into education as most people do: to change and inspire the lives of others. But since being in the field for two weeks everything I have learned from the textbook was thrown out the window. I am currently working with students with special needs. This took more patience than I could have thought but it's not always having patience with the students. I have learned to have patience with myself. I am going to slip up as a teacher and get things wrong. I may think one way of doing tasks in the classroom is the only way to do it and my lesson can completely fail. I need to be able to pull myself up after those failures and try try again. I will never be a "perfect teacher" but I hope to always have the patience with myself to try again.

I stay true to myself in my daily life by continuing with my major. Within my college, I'm in one of the most demanding programs: Education. In the world, we are in the middle of a teacher shortage, and hearing constant bash about my major makes it difficult at times to continue on. But I just remember that I am a part of something bigger than myself and that gives me the motivation to keep moving on. I want to teach because there was no one that looked like me in the education field. I'm going for me who did not have a figure to look up to that was the same shade. I'm going for the future students to be able to see themselves in an adult figure who may not have that exemplified in the household. Staying true to your beliefs all day every day can be difficult. This is why we can take it hour by hour or minute by minute to get by.

My #Back2SchoolBold moment is inspired by my roommates baby picture. You may be confused on how this is relavant because I could have chosen any school related photo in the book. But this is my moto photo for the year. I am living in an apartment for the first time which comes with a lot of responsibility cooking for myself. I have also had to add more time to my commute to campus and the parking situation is stressful. Instead of the University taking my dorm fees out all at once I now have to remember to pay monthly. Lastly I am an education major which comes with the stress of being back in the classroom after not being in one since my freshman year. Needless to say I am a little bit stressed and overwhelmed. This is my #Back2SchoolBold moment.

My philosophy about the world is that everything works in harmony together. Spirituality is about connecting the mind and the body together. Spirituality helps us explain the things in the world that we have no explanation for. Science explains how the body functions to stay alive. Science explains how the brain works neurologically. The brain helps us understand how we do basic functions like eat, sleep, and breathe. Our bodies work so well we do not have to think about how things work but scientists throughout research have been able to break down how these all work. Math uses numbers to help us solve the world. Science requires many equations so science and math tend to go hand and hand. Math is the numbers we can't explain in words.

This photo represents school spirit because it's an experience I can share with my mom. This school wasn't her first choice because she wanted to go to a Historically Black College and University but her mom couldn't afford it. She fought really hard to get her degree being one of the very few black women in her college. In a similar way, I feel like I have been doing the same thing in my program. I am excited to have created a legacy here at BGSU.

In higher education, I am pursuing a degree in Inclusive Early Childhood Education. I decided to focus on this instead of regular education licensure because I believe that everyone should have a right to be educated in similar school settings and not be separated based on "abilities". I decided to pursue a degree in education because I never had a teacher that looked like me. Since being in college I have written several reports on how the teaching population is lots of white females. But most classrooms do not look like that and there are highly qualified men and women of various ethnicities who should be represented in the teaching communities. I am pursuing this education degree for every little girl like me who did not see themselves in a teaching position. I am pursuing this education degree for the dwindling teaching population. There need to be more teachers out there as this becomes a less popular field of study. One of my newest extracurriculars is being an Ambassador for my College of Education and Human Development which would help host events for current and future students. When I was in high school I participated in very similar events. I have also been a part of a Multicultural Summer Link Program which helped minorities transfer into the college. This was nice for me to see people like me doing the same thing. This previous fall I was a fall welcome group leader for the incoming freshman. This was hard during the pandemic to interact with students but my job was to give them some words of encouragement during move-in, guide them around, give them a campus tour, and just be a welcoming face during their first week at college. Currently, I am most passionate about inclusion in schools. I have been learning a lot about diversity and disabilities in classrooms this past semester and it really had me thinking more about it. I understand that as a teacher I cannot fix the entire world by myself as an educator but I can at least change one student's life. I understand that there are some needs for students to not be fully included with other students but there can be some integration. If you pull children out a lot they develop less and less socially with children their age. I hope that when I have students that their aid can be there with them and me. I want to work with the specialist to develop the best plan for the student because everyone deserves to be included. Hailey Julia "Jesus Ch

My greatest achievement was in high school during my junior year. I was always incredibly active in all aspects in high school because I went to an extremely high achieving school. This did not help me my Junior year because as everyone knows it is the hardest year wherever you go. I had a 1.6 GPA on a 4.5 scale. I thought I could bring it up without help but not needing help lead me to pull myself down deeper into the hole. One day in the middle of the first semester my dean of students pulled me into her office telling me that I would essentially be pulled out of all extracurriculars because of my GPA. I was over halfway through production for a musical I was leading in, I had to pull out of being a Club officer, and I had to pull away from working more hours. I was still able to work on weekends but I was not making as much as I wanted. I got a tutor and worked with teachers in the areas I struggled in. In my Math class, I was pulling a 46% so I had to meet with her every Thursday morning before school. In my Chemistry class, I was pulling a 57% so I saw her once a week on Tuesdays. Then I met with an outside tutor twice a week to work on both of those subjects alternating. It was a lot of hard work but I was able to push both of my grades up to high C's by the end of the semester. The classes I was in were year-long classes so I continued to see them even though I had gotten both of my grades up. I was able to confidently ask questions in class and I felt empowered with my abilities to do better in all other subjects. I was able to take back my leadership role in my Club the following semester but I did decide to not get back into Theater my senior year due to the extreme time commitment I could not afford to risk when I had been doing so well. After fully applying myself I saw results within a month and my mental health had gotten better. I also did not add more workdays until over the summer so I could continue to practice good study habits. If my Junior year taught me anything it is to ask for help when you need it. Do not wait until it is too late to fix it or wait for someone else to reach out to you because that could be the tipping point. I was lucky enough to have people that cared about me enough to watch and guide me. I hope in the future to offer that same support system as a teacher. I want children to be able to look back on me and think about how I was able to help them when they were down and at their lowest.

My eighth-grade teacher helped me pursue higher education in the education field. I have always been interested in the teaching field but wasn't always sure what I wanted to be and how I wanted to get there. I was not the best student growing up averaging a C average I was just trying to do my best to survive. At the moment it did not feel like she made an impact on me but the older I get and the more into the education field I learn that she is a model for behavioral management for me. She found phrases and figures that were of interest to our class to keep us engaged with the material. We had become so engrossed with our vocabulary words and lessons she had us correcting each others grammar on the playground. My favorite event that she had us learn about was what makes a good debate. We were paired with another classmate making a pro and a con side for each topic. The topics we argued about were topics we handpicked and voted on ourselves. I still remember the feeling after I had won my topic on if uniforms were helpful or harmful for a child. This was a topic that I had studied and done countless research on even before given the topic. Going into my freshman year of high school I believed after years of being set on pursuing elementary school that I would switch to middle school after being around her teaching style. It took a while for me to realize I can still stay in elementary school and use some of her tactics. Going into my third year of education I have been finding ways to continuously incorporate her teaching styles into the mini-lessons I have had to plan out. I have also been possibly looking into getting middle school licensure because of how engaged she was in learning. I have run into her a couple of times since starting my college journey. She has always believed teaching was a career path for me and I was so happy to hear that someone else could see me in this field as well. If she were to ever run across this essay I just want to say thank you for igniting a passion in me that was there and just needed a little push. It is because of you that future students will get to enjoy just a piece of the teacher you always were for me.

My biggest artistic ambition is for those who are not of color to see the world as we see it. Art is not only what you put on a canvas or a wall but it is what you see through your eyes and in your heart. Art is expressed in how we dress and how we interact with people.Bettering our future starts with the children in our lives. They always say "Children are the future of the world" which they are so we have to make sure that we are steering them into the correct path. This is why I wanted to go into education. I find that this path is dampened a little bit and could use a bit of reconstruction. This scholarship would help me with my vision because I hope to express this message to my students through books in the classroom. Books can transport us to all sorts of worlds without leaving the comforts of our home. I want to introduce them to books that show different family lives, disabilities, how people do things differently around the world, and so much more. I did not like reading as a child but the more I grow in my educational knowledge the more I see the value of it. Reading is all a matter of finding what you like.

Ensuring the future for generations to come puts us on a steady path to have a good world for current adults of earth and future adults of earth. The boomer generation has done a lot of destructive damage to the environment and the economy. This has left the millennial and generation z with a lot of financial pain and a quickly deteriorating world. Earth is too damaged now to try and fix in under five years. Each generation has to take a small step towards helping to evolve a better future than the one we currently have. For example this could be using a reusable water bottle instead of a million plastic ones. Since being in college I have LOVED the Brita brand. This brand has many different ways for you to incorporate sustainability into your life. From their gallon filter you can put in your fridge to your filtered water bottle everyone can find what works best for them. I started out using the standard pitcher then moved on to the water bottle. I came from a home of single use water bottles. Although those are more convenient on a day to day basis, it fills up your trash quickly. They are also a pain to carry up a million steps in school. Using one reusable water bottle helps me save two to three plastic water bottles a day. Small changes help impact our environment. Doing this can help save our oceans. Small changes can help a great deal but we cannot completely solve the pollution and climate crisis until big cooperations cut down on their plastic use. This is a very lucrative business that has no recourse for how they are treating the world. The only way we can put pressure on this is through consumer buying. This has been done through social media change. Hashtags can be found by the thousands on places like twitter and instagram. As a community we band together to show these businesses that money talks. We pick out certain days that we decide that we will not make any purchases from a certain business putting tension on them to rethink how they do business. Generation Z is so bold, strong, and powerful I believe that through our diligent efforts over our lifetime we will be able to create a durable path for our grandchildren which is the legacy that will out live us.

As a black women I have been molded by the lack of black people. Since I have always attended schools with a low amount of students of color it took me awhile to learn about who I am and my place within the black community. The truth is I am still struggling to find my fit. Especially when you are "too black" for the white students and "too white" for the black students. I felt like I was alone and no one ever could understand this from my perspective because my parents both went to predominately black schools. It was not until I discovered the app Tiktok that I got to hear about shared stories and experiences from black women all across the USA with similar storylines to me. I also got to participate in my colleges Multicultural Summer Link Program. Truth be told I was mostly looking for a program because I got to move in early and meet some people early on. I did get both of those but I also found other students that had been looking for the same thing: a place where we all belonged. I am an Inclusive Early Childhood Education major. The reason I feel so passionate about teaching is because in my 13 years of Catholic School I have never had a teacher of color. I may have had two so far in college as a rising junior. In some of my education classes I still see a lack of diversity in the already dying out teaching population. I want to be the face of color for a student. I want them to feel like they have someone in a way that I didn't have anyone. Having this drive has pushed me to educate myself more on these issues of why you don't see a lot of black teachers. I have also involved myself in being a leader/ambassador for the College of Education and Human Development because I saw a need and figured there is no one more qualified to fight for change and diversity in school settings than someone who never got to experience it.

"You don't need it". I have learned the best money saving strategies during this pandemic. Since things are opening up more its natural to believe that I need to have everything. This is a difficult concept considering that I am a broke college student. The best advice I have taken is from the person in my head who helps me distinguish right from wrong. The way I decide now if I need an item weather big or small is for it to go through my mental checklist. First: What purpose does it serve? If I am at target and I see this iced coffee maker that I really like I have to think can I visualize myself using it. Second: Is this something I could see myself using everyday? I technically already have a keirug at home (turning me off of deciding to buy the item). I also don't drink coffee everyday. Third: How much does it cost? This step speaks for itself but this particular item was $30 not bad. Four: Would I regret not buying it in a month or year? This is the biggest and most challenging step to deciding if I wanted to buy an item. In this case I wanted this iced coffee maker for two months because they were in such high demand and everyone was talking about them online. Once they become more available and I thought about it I decided the purchase wasn't necessary and moved on. Some people consider me an over thinker, I think of it as a good saving technique.

Throughout time it is very cliche to say that children bring us hope for the future but there is some truth behind this. There is a looping commercial on that talks about how if we can care about climate change than the adults can act towards improving our future. Then one scene cuts to a girl growing food in her room talking about growing food locally. Thinking back to the time my parents grew up then is very different than now. One example is the use of the "r word" to describe a person to be not fully comprehending what you are saying. Our generation has taken that word and realized "hey that term is very offensive to a group of people we should no longer use it." Now that word is considered less socially acceptable. My generation is more accepting of people as a whole. We believe people should be able to be who they want to be and love who they want to love without fear of social rejection. Social change has pushed this idea forward to have a whole month dedicated to this movement. Children give me hope for the future because we can make the world better than how our parents left it to us. Through numerous social media platforms like instagram, snapchat, twitter, tiktok, etc. you can openly express your thoughts and ideas in a matter of seconds. Our parents believe that the only way you can learn about the world is watching the news, reading the paper, or going out and finding out about it through experiences. I have been on this side of tiktok called "Teacher tiktok" where I can get ideas from all sorts of teachers new and old so when I have a classroom of my own I can incorporate those ideas. Studying education has put me at the forefront of helping the next generation of adults be more caring, kind, vulnerable, and socially aware. I hope the more I continue to grow into my profession, the better off the children will be.

"No matter what, keep moving forward" This quote seems very simple by face value definition but it has more meaning to it conforming who I am as a person. In high school I went to a school that had high expectations for their students. I was having trouble keeping up but I was able to just meet those bar requirements. Until the jarring junior year hit. I believed I had everything under control not paying attention to the floor falling from under me. By the time I had realized I needed help the entire floor was gone. I was averaging a little above a 1.5 GPA and failing almost two classes. I had to cut my hours back at work and my involvement with after school activities that brought me so much joy. But I kept moving forward. This was the year that colleges look at prospective students for school. I wasn't going to let one bad semester tarnish my years of hardwork. I kept moving forward by getting the necessary help I needed in school meeting with my math and chemistry teachers once a week to individually go over my struggle areas. I kept moving forward by also getting an outside tutor and meeting three times a week on my already scheduled once a week meeting with my teachers. This determination helped me move my final grade to a 2.5. Many might think that this is a low gpa but I have never worked harder for something than I had that semester. This Moto "No matter what, keep moving forward" has allowed me to finish my sophomore year of college in a pandemic with a 3.76 GPA because I refuse to let my hard work be tarnished after I have come this far.

COVID-19 has taken a lot of life and joy out of the world. As people we love spending money. As a college student who enjoyed going out and eating out I am very familiar with poor spending habits pre-pandemic. After everyone was forced back home into isolation I needed to fill all this extra time I had now that I could not go out with my friends. Since my job was one of the only places that did not shut down I found myself committing more to it. I worked close to everyday because that was my time to being able to be outside of my house. Going to work more allowed me to get a nicer check and a bigger raise. I also found myself being better friends with my co-workers because before I was just a seasonal employee. No one had been spending money during the pandemic so it had allowed me to learn money saving tools. The longer the pandemic went on the larger my savings account had been able to grown. With the growth of my account I was finally able to save up to put a downpayment on a new used car for myself. This could not have come at a more perfect timing because now that the pandemic is getting a bit better I will be able to go to student teaching in the fall. Before having my new used car I was worried that my old car would have trouble getting me there because it was older than me. Moving forward after this summer I hope that I can apply those money saving tools as an adult to learn better money management. Especially since this semester I will be in an apartment. I will have to learn how to budget money to make sure I am properly fed each week and have enough saved for rent each month. I am not thankful to the pandemic for a lot but I am grateful for my change in spending habits.

The greatest inspiration in my life comes from social media. Many people see it as a barrier or a way to disconnect us from reality but I see the opposite. I see my friends from home at school working hard for dream internships and being able to celebrate those accomplishments across three states and four different schools. I use the app Tiktok the most when it comes to learning. As a future educator I have a whole folder saved of various tips and tricks from teachers all across the US that I might never have been able to before. Thus meaning that I am better prepared for student teaching and more qualified to be an educator. I am driven by my passion to have our educators look like the student of the world. The teaching population is heavily dominated by white females and that proof is shown by the teachers all my life. I have only had one teacher of color and it was for a summer minority program. I am driven to be a voice to students of color. I want them to have the opportunity of having a teacher that looks like them that I missed out on.

I did not know much about mental health or the best way to take care of it until I was a senior in high school. I had a friend who struggled with anxiety and depression (she still currently does). She has shared that it was hard for her to be diagnosed because she did not fit the image of someone with anxiety and depression. She was an honors student who studied real hard but she had trouble holding attention on things she was less interested in. I learned from her that mental health can present itself in many forms even if you do not fit a standard "look". Since studying education for the last two years we have learned about what mental health is and how to present it to children. In my education class this past semester we read a book about this child battling depression. He describes depression as this big blob guy who is around but sometimes he goes away. He goes on to say that he is not scared of him they have just learned to become better friends. I have learned that depression is more than just something you feel for a bit then it goes away like when you stub your toe. But more of something that you feel all over your body and it shows in how you carry yourself. As a future educator I want to provide tools, tips, and tricks for my students who are dealing with things like this and do not know how to talk about it. Sometimes we just need someone who will listen or just let us creatively fuel this outlet. My biggest lesson is that there are many ways to help students with mental health, but the best way is to just ask them what works for them.

My identity affects my leadership path because in the world not many women hold high positions. Specifically women of color. I grew up with this theory showcased in mainstream media and in my school daily life throughout high school . When I decided to be an educator, it was because I want to be that leader and role model for youth. I also accepted a teaching position this summer to teach students who want to enrich their studies over the summer at an affordable cost. It is important to be able to get ahead and stay ahead. I grew up around a lot of strong women in my life being raised by a single mom. I also attended an all girls school which fully blossomed my fight for women and women rights. My biggest goal education wise is to inspire one young black female to become a teacher and continue my legacy. I held three leadership positions in high school academically, spiritually, and in Human Resources. It was empowering to see that every role that needed to be taken care of whether it was in sports, the theatre set building, leadership positions, and anything in between was held by a woman. I have learned from that experience that my voice should never be silenced by anyone. This has been proven true because I am not afraid to speak up for ask for help when need be. Before COVID I was never afraid to raise my hand in class even if I was the youngest. A BGSU I have learned a lot about representation both inside and outside of my field. As a future upstanding citizen I want to make sure that everyone in my classroom gets a fair shot no matter race, gender, ethnicity, or abilities. After graduation I hope to be actively involved in a classroom of my own and hopefully in theatre productions. Anyone that has ever been in theatre understands the importance of teamwork and value of both cast and crew. As Shakespeare once said “All the world is your stage”. This scholarship would help move me closer to my dreams. As an educator I plan on using my toolbox to foster learning everyday. I want to create a safe and nurturing environment in my classroom even if the environment at home is not. I want the children I work with to be able to trust me with their safety and knowledge.

As a black women I have been molded by the lack of black people. Since I have always attended schools with a low amount of students of color it took me awhile to learn about who I am and my place within the black community. The truth is I am still struggling to find my fit. Especially when you are "too black" for the white students and "too white" for the black students. I felt like I was alone and no one ever could understand this from my perspective because my parents both went to predominately black schools. It was not until I discovered the app Tiktok that I got to hear about shared stories and experiences from black women all across the USA with similar storylines to me. I also got to participate in my colleges Multicultural Summer Link Program. Truth be told I was mostly looking for a program because I got to move in early and meet some people early on. I did get both of those but I also found other students that had been looking for the same thing: a place where we all belonged. I am an Inclusive Early Childhood Education major. The reason I feel so passionate about teaching is because in my 13 years of Catholic School I have never had a teacher of color. I may have had two so far in college as a rising junior. In some of my education classes I still see a lack of diversity in the already dying out teaching population. I want to be the face of color for a student. I want them to feel like they have someone in a way that I didn't have anyone. Having this drive has pushed me to educate myself more on these issues of why you don't see a lot of black teachers. I have also involved myself in being a leader/ambassador for the College of Education and Human Development because I saw a need and figured there is no one more qualified to fight for change and diversity in school settings than someone who never got to experience it.

My greatest achievement was in high school my junior year. I was always incredibly active in all aspects in high school because I went to an extremely high achieving school. This did not help me my Junior year because as everyone knows it is the hardest year wherever you go. I had a 1.6 GPA on a 4.5 scale. I thought I could bring it up without help but not needing help lead me to pulling myself down deeper into the hole. One day in the middle of the first semester my dean of students pulled me into her office telling me that I would essentially be pulled out of all extracurriculars because of my GPA. I was over halfway through production for a musical I was leading in, I had to pull out of being a Club officer, and I had to pull away from working more hours. I was still able to work on weekends but I was not making as much as I wanted. I got a tutor and worked with teachers in the areas I struggled in. In my Math class I was pulling a 46% so I had to meet with her every Thursday morning before school. In my Chemistry class I was pulling a 57% so I saw her once a week on Tuesdays. Then I met with an outside tutor twice a week to work on both of those subjects alternating. It was a lot of hard work but I was able to push both of my grades up to high C's by the end of the semester. The classes I was in were year long classes so I continued to see them even though I had gotten both of my grades up. I was able to confidently ask questions in class and I felt empowered with my abilities to do better in all other subjects. I was able to take back my leadership role in my Club the following semester but I did decide to not get back into Theater my senior year due to the extreme time commitment I could not afford to risk when I had been doing so well. After fully applying myself I saw results within a month and my mental health had gotten better. I also did not add more work days until over the summer so I could continue to practice good study habits. If my Junior year taught me anything it is to ask for help when you need it. Do not wait until it is too late to fix it or wait for someone else to reach out to you because that could be the tipping point. I was lucky enough to have people that cared about me enough to watch and guide me. I hope in the future to offer that same support system as a teacher. I want children to be able to look back on me and think about how I was able to help them when they were down and at their lowest.

In higher education I am pursuing a degree in Inclusive Early Childhood Education. I decided to focus on this instead of a regular education licensure because I believe that everyone should have a right to be educated in similar school settings and not be separated based on "abilities". I decided to pursue a degree in education because I never had a teacher that looked like me. Since being in college I have written several reports on how the teaching population is lots of white females. But most classrooms do not look like that and there are highly qualified men and women of various ethnicities who should be represented in the teaching communities. I am pursuing this education degree for every little girl like me who did not see themselves in a teaching position. I am pursuing this education degree for the dwindling teaching population. There needs to be more teachers out there as this becomes a less popular field of study. One of my newest extracurriculars is being an Ambassador for my College of Education and Human Development which would help host events for current and future students. When I was in high school I participated in very similar events. I have also been apart of a Multicultural Summer Link Program which helped minorities transfer into college. This was nice for me to see people like me doing the same thing. This previous fall I was a fall welcome group leader for the incoming freshman. This was hard during the pandemic to interact with students but my job was to give them some words of encouragement during move in, guide them around, give them a campus tour, and just be a welcoming face during their first week at college. Currently I am most passionate about inclusion in schools. I have been learning a lot about diversity and disabilities in classrooms this past semester and it really had me thinking more about it. I understand that as a teacher I cannot fix the entire world by myself as an educator but I can at least change one students life. I understand that there are some needs for students to not be fully included with other students but there can be some integration. If you pull children out a lot they develop less and less socially with children their age. I hope that when I have students that their aid can be there with them and me. I want to work with the specialist to develop the best plan for the student because everyone deserves to be included.

I have always gone to Catholic School since Kindergarten. I sometimes would refer to myself as the Trinity of religion because my mom is Baptist, my dad is AME Methodist, and I went to a Catholic School. I never saw Jesus as one straight path being. I saw him more of an old friend who I continuously got to know the older I got. I learned new things about him and his mission several times a day. People always say the best relationships you have with people is when you are continuously learning new things about them. Like many others I got the opportunity to go to Kiaros. Many say that this time "changed their life" and in a way I would agree. But it changed my life because I saw faith in the eyes of others. I went to an all girls school so this was a co-ed experience with another local all boys school. Growing up I saw Jesus as a person walking with others. I now understand him as a person living in each one of us because we can learn a great deal from those around us. Going to a public university I have had some struggles keeping that faith alive because my routine and life had been flipped upside down. I was used to exploring the Catholic word 2-3 times a week and mass once a week where I sang then church with mom or dad on Sunday. I looked at the rows and rows of various churches around campus just trying to see a connection to my old ways. I tried two different bible study groups one for my major and another one for my university housing. None seemed to fit right with me. I also went to Sunday church for awhile where things seemed to start fulfilling me spiritually again. Once COVID hit I have been having a hard time fueling my faith for Jesus. Not all of us have it together and Jesus doesn't expect us to always have all the answers because we are his children no matter our condition. Everyday I am working to refine my relationship with him even though it is not where I want it to be now.

I am Morgan Sims an African American College Student. I am a Sophomore at Bowling Green State University studying Inclusive Early Childhood Education. I have always wanted to be a teacher I just didn't know it until middle school. My first grade teacher told me at my high school graduation that she always knew I would teach. I also was drawn to teaching because until college I was never the smartest kid. In my younger years I struggled with math and science a lot. Specifically junior year of high school, at one point I had a 1.65 GPA on a 4.5 GPA scale. Before school the whole year around twice a week I would meet with teachers individually to work on my skills. I find it important that anyone who goes into education have struggled in a class at least once. It helps you relate to children more because you remember what it's like to struggle. In school now I have made deans list since my first semester freshman year. My major is very rigorous I am pushing seventeen to eighteen credit hours every semester while keeping above a 3.0 GPA. I currently hold a 3.74 GPA. I also have done a lot of volunteer work within classrooms before college to make sure education was the route I wanted to take. My end goal in life is to inspire one student of color to become an educator. In my program I have maybe seen about ten other students of color. To cut it down even more I have probably seen six other African American Women in my major that has over five hundred student in my cohort. From my knowledge I have only had one teacher that looked like me and it was for a summer program for minority students. Ive only gone to Predominately White Institutions (PWI's). So until the program I was used to being the minority I was never surrounded by people who looked like me. There are pros and cons to going to a PWI. A pro is I always understood a sense for diversity. I learned that everyone deserves a place at the table and their story should be heard. I can use this tactic in my classroom in the future to make sure that students feel respected because even five year olds have a story to tell. One con is that I never got the full sense of my own identity. I never knew what it was like to be around others that look like me and gain a sense of understanding. Thus as some would call it I have become "white washed" meaning that although I am African American to other African Americans I am seen as a mirror representation of white people. Not in my time but eventually I would like to get rid of that negative stereotype that students of color that attend predominately white schools are white washed because of the things they like. I want them to see me for who I am and my interests not another nationality/figure. I believe that we should just see people as people. We are all capable of many things. "Many hands make for light work".

1. I am involved in welcoming freshman events. I recently was accepted into being an ambassador my my current college of education and human development. I was excited to be offering the position because there aren't many minority students in my field and I want to be a part of the change. I also have been employed at Chick-fil-A since my junior year of high school and I work there during all my breaks at College.I also used to volunteer in an underprivileged elementary school for 6 years which also helped me realize my passion for teaching. 2. I currently am on all loans because my fafsa looks like I am receiving income from both parents but my step-dad does not help pay for my education. This scholarship will help me take out less loans next year. 3. Upon graduation in Spring 2023 I hope to teach in an inclusive elementary school classroom with a mix of kids with and without disabilities.

"Like a Girl" by Lizzo is truly an inspiring song. I chose this song due to the boss empowerment feeling you get from hearing it. The opening like "Woke up feeling like I just might run for President" is a great hard hitter because until recently we have not had a lot of females in positions of power. Whenever I am feeling down in the dumps or not like myself I can always count on my Female Empowerment playlist to help me feel better. The songs below are a range of powerful songs written by women. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0BoMo9fWaRamXgFhzyhAur?si=dAYAUNLvRECQNpevUUNhnA

My greatest achievement was in high school my junior year. I was always incredibly active in all aspects in high school because I went to an extremely high achieving school. This did not help me my Junior year because as everyone knows it is the hardest year wherever you go. I had a 1.6 GPA on a 4.5 scale. I thought I could bring it up without help but not needing help lead me to pulling myself down deeper into the hole. One day in the middle of the first semester my dean of students pulled me into her office telling me that I would essentially be pulled out of all extracurriculars because of my GPA. I was over halfway through production for a musical I was leading in, I had to pull out of being a Club officer, and I had to pull away from working more hours. I was still able to work on weekends but I was not making as much as I wanted. I got a tutor and worked with teachers in the areas I struggled in. In my Math class I was pulling a 46% so I had to meet with her every Thursday morning before school. In my Chemistry class I was pulling a 57% so I saw her once a week on Tuesdays. Then I met with an outside tutor twice a week to work on both of those subjects alternating. It was a lot of hard work but I was able to push both of my grades up to high C's by the end of the semester. The classes I was in were year long classes so I continued to see them even though I had gotten both of my grades up. I was able to confidently ask questions in class and I felt empowered with my abilities to do better in all other subjects. I was able to take back my leadership role in my Club the following semester but I did decide to not get back into Theater my senior year due to the extreme time commitment I could not afford to risk when I had been doing so well. After fully applying myself I saw results within a month and my mental health had gotten better. I also did not add more work days until over the summer so I could continue to practice good study habits. If my Junior year taught me anything it is to ask for help when you need it. Do not wait until it is too late to fix it or wait for someone else to reach out to you because that could be the tipping point. I was lucky enough to have people that cared about me enough to watch and guide me. I hope in the future to offer that same support system as a teacher. I want children to be able to look back on me and think about how I was able to help them when they were down and at their lowest.

I am a Sophomore at Bowling Green State University studying inclusive early childhood education. I picked Bowling Green because of the inclusive part allowing me to also work with children who have disabilities. I have gone to Catholic Schools my entire life til college. I decided to pursue a degree in education because I never had a teacher who looked like me. It is important to me to give kids the experience that I never got and the emotional support I needed. In my junior year this was a time that I struggles the most. I was failing two classes and nearly failing two more. I worked weekly with my teachers of the classes in which I struggled. Knowing that once a week was not enough, I sometimes met twice a week with teachers. I even met with an outside tutor to deepen my studies. This ensured that I was not just passing, but learning more about the subject so I was able to help others. Though my studies were my top priority, I still had other significant commitments in my life. I had just started a new job. It was an opportunity for me to gain work experience, a sense of independence, and responsibility. Striving to pull up my grades, with the additional commitment of my job, drove me to work harder. Despite my countless efforts, my grades did not improve by the deadline, and therefore I was pulled from the show. Getting pulled from the show was exactly what I needed. This setback allowed me to focus on my studies. The process of improving my grades took continuous effort. The constant vexation of my grades, in fear of academic probation, gave me motivation to try even harder. But worrying too much was detrimental to my life as it created new doubts and anxiety in myself and my abilities. I still continue to struggle with anxiety and self-doubt, but I am always getting better. To prevent anxiety I searched for the good in my life: my supportive friends, family, and teachers. While this particular year was troublesome, some value did come out of it. I realized that I have an amazing Beaumont network always ready to help. Even if it means meeting at 7:15 every Wednesday morning in the middle of Cleveland’s brutal winter to ensure I understand osmosis. I developed a solid work/school balance by restricting myself to working on weekends in order to complete school work. After my junior year I was inducted into the International Thespian Society, an honor troupe for theater students, and received seven awards. The best part of this experience has been discovering my strength and determination. I now know how to manage a rigorous academic curriculum, hold down a job, and find time to pursue the activities that bring me joy. I am confident in my ability to manage the challenges of college because I almost failed in my junior year. My junior year taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to no matter if it takes days, weeks, months, or even a year. After high school I finished with a 2.7 (on a 4.5 scale). My first semester of college I received a 3.89 GPA and my second semester receiving a 3.6 averaging out to a 3.7 cumulative. I think about my junior year every time I think about giving up because I want to do better for junior year of high school me.

I was raised by just my mom until I was in the 6th grade. After that she got remarried to my step-dad. Being a child of a single mother has made me a strong independent woman. I was also an only child so I am used to doing things for myself on my own. This is one of my biggest strengths and my biggest weakness. I have a hard time accepting help from others. But my mom also taught me that sometimes you have to be your own biggest supporter. I did not have the most expensive things but I was able to get what I needed. I was able to participate in any extracurriculars I wanted to. My relationship with my mom is very strong I depend on her more than most people in life. She also sent me to an all girls school that continued to foster my need to be a powerful woman. One day I hope to raise a strong woman. When I was younger, I never understood why my family dynamic was different from everyone else in my class who came from a two parent household. But, the older I got the more I understood that she did those things so I could be happy. I never felt like I missed out on key developmental opportunities. She couldn't always be at the parent events in the middle of the day but all the night and weekend events she was there for. This has made me want to be a teacher to make sure that I am a support system for children of all backgrounds. I was fortunate enough to live with a loving mother but others don't have that luxury. I want to be a teacher to make sure that children who look like me can see themselves being anything when they grow up. Minority students are much more likely to go to college if they have a teacher who looks like them encouraging them along the way. My dream career is to be a teacher and work to foster a safe environment for kids in my classroom. Right now I am attending college and focusing on the end goal to get there. One problem with me getting to the end goal is my financials. I have applied to over 60 scholarships from my senior year to now my sophomore year in college now and I am strictly on loans. My fear is out of college I will continue to add to the massive student debt crisis. I am worried that my debt will continue to add up to an unbearable amount that I will struggle paying back for years. My mom also attended the same University as me. She studied business and I study education. My mom is the reason I started looking at my school to begin with and I am glad that she did. She took me up here for homecoming weekend and connected me with a lot of people in my field to help make my decisions.