I knew from the moment I walked the stage that I wanted to be a teacher, not the high school graduation walk. The kindergarten walk where the principal asks you what you want to be when you grow up and everyone says a vet, doctor, teacher are the only jobs you know at that age, and I said teacher not knowing the impact that would have on my life. Good morning my name is Lacy Rogers, I am a student at Ennis High School in Ennis, Texas. I always knew my goal was to be a teacher, I thought it would be so fun to work with children, do crafts, and color all day. This was when I had no experience and no real knowledge of the impact teachers have. During my life so far I have faced a couple of hardships, trying to navigate life feeling like I was alone because at the time my parents were focused on everything except me. This took a huge toll on my mental health and my ability to complete simple tasks kids should do. This made me learn and realize I wanted to help children even more, wanting the spot in my heart that wanted so badly for someone to be there to be healed, by being what I wanted for myself to be directed towards everyone around me. My lack of parental guidance and going towards my teachers to help me navigate allowed me to grow my passion even stronger. My plans for my career have been set in stone. I joined the Ready, Set, Teach program and currently in the student work program working at one of our local elementary schools for two hours a day. This allows me to continue learning every day what students need. My goal for my career is to have an impact on kids' lives. To be an educator and show the students who don't have anyone at home that they have their teacher, who will make sure they have everything they need and that they have a safe space. My goals started by just wanting to be a teacher, but as I grow and learn from my own personal life I strive to be someone who has made a difference. I believe I can make good in the world by helping shape young minds into allowing them to believe they can achieve anything they put their mind to. They can achieve their own goals, and they will always have someone cheering them on. My goal to make a positive impact on the world through my career is shaping young minds, and allowing them to grow to their fullest potential.

I believe every person deserves to have that one teacher who changed their way of life, their way of thinking, and their mindset of school. In my education since pre-k I remember every single one of my teachers, but two of them in particular made a huge impact on my life and way of thinking. These two teachers by the names of Mrs.Kovar, and Mrs.Wilson have had the most impact on my life. They deserve the recognition for my success. Eighth grade was my first year back to school after covid hit, on top of that I didn’t have the best support system at home either. My attendance was not the greatest, but that's when it changed, the end of eighth grade. I had missed almost two weeks at one time because we were moving and had limited time to pack, while my parents worked I stayed home and packed, and unpacked within those two weeks. This is when Mrs.Wilson noticed I was gone, I checked my email trying my best to stay on top of assignments and when I checked there was an email from Mrs.Wilson asking if everything was okay and that she was worried. This was a major turning point for me. I realized someone did care, not just about me but for the importance of my education. After coming back to school she pulled me into the hall and I told her about everything that was going on and what the situation was. From that point on she always made sure I was okay, and made sure that I always had a ride to school. From then I stopped missing as many days and began my journey of trying for perfect attendance. She impacted my life in the most positive way, in a way where I am still in communication with her and go to her school and visit. In my first three years of high-school I was in the education pathway. The teacher is Mrs.Kovar. My freshman year I still had not a good record for attendance considering I didn’t always have a ride or something would happen and I would need to stay home. Mrs.Kovar and I did not really have any sort of connection until my sophomore year when she told me to participate in a club she has called TAFE. That's when she began to impact my life for the better. Kovar told me I had potential and that I was very creative and she wanted me on her competition team. This made me fix my attendance more and make it to school no matter what, unfortunately I had to drop out of the competition and then came junior year, when she made the most impact a teacher could ever make. She forced me into TAFE, telling me if I didn't do it she would kick me out of her class, and told me that she needed me on her team. She made it clear that I had so much more potential than I had. She told me I could always rely on her if I needed anything. And with her faith in me I made it to nationals in TAFE with my solo project and continued to visit Kovar after I completed her class. I will forever be thankful for all the effort she put into my education and better wellbeing. These two teachers will always have a place in my heart for showing me that I could do anything if I put my mind to it, and that there’s always people rooting for me.

I believe every person deserves to have that one teacher who changed their way of life, their way of thinking, and their mindset of school. In my education since pre-k I remember every single one of my teachers, but two of them in particular made a huge impact on my life and way of thinking. These two teachers by the names of Mrs.Kovar, and Mrs.Wilson have had the most impact on my life. They deserve the recognition for my success. Eighth grade was my first year back to school after covid hit, on top of that I didn’t have the best support system at home either. My attendance was not the greatest, but that's when it changed, the end of eighth grade. I had missed almost two weeks at one time because we were moving and had limited time to pack, while my parents worked I stayed home and packed, and unpacked within those two weeks. This is when Mrs.Wilson noticed I was gone, I checked my email trying my best to stay on top of assignments and when I checked there was an email from Mrs.Wilson asking if everything was okay and that she was worried. This was a major turning point for me. I realized someone did care, not just about me but for the importance of my education. After coming back to school she pulled me into the hall and I told her about everything that was going on and what the situation was. From that point on she always made sure I was okay, and made sure that I always had a ride to school. From then I stopped missing as many days and began my journey of trying for perfect attendance. She impacted my life in the most positive way, in a way where I am still in communication with her and go to her school and visit. In my first three years of high-school was in the education pathway. The teacher is Mrs.Kovar. My freshman year I still had not a good record for attendance considering I didn’t always have a ride or something would happen and I would need to stay home. Mrs.Kovar and I did not really have any sort of connection until my sophomore year when she told me to participate in a club she has called TAFE. That's when she began to impact my life for the better. Kovar told me I had potential and that I was very creative and she wanted me on her competition team. This made me fix my attendance more and make it to school no matter what, unfortunately I had to drop out of the competition and then came junior year, when she made the most impact a teacher could ever make. She forced me into TAFE, telling me if I didn't do it she would kick me out of her class, and told me that she needed me on her team. She made it clear that I had so much more potential than I had. She told me I could always rely on her if I needed anything. And with her faith in me I made it to nationals in TAFE with my solo project and continued to visit Kovar after I completed her class. I will forever be thankful for all the effort she put into my education and better wellbeing. These two teachers will always have a place in my heart for showing me that I could do anything if I put my mind to it, and that there’s always people rooting for me.