Located within the small, quaint town of Portsmouth, Ohio lies a terrible reputation. The murals on the flood wall and charm of being a tiny place to live quickly fade with one Google search. The first articles that appear address the city’s crippling opioid epidemic. What is the significance of this little place many have never heard of? It is my hometown. Let me introduce myself. I am Scarlett Caudill, a sophomore at Shawnee State University studying to be an English second language (ESL) teacher for elementary school. I go to college in my hometown and see the need for many changes here. I am willing to make these changes myself to improve my favorite community in the world. I come from a family that always tries to help one another. I grew up in poverty. It is something I’ve always known and still experience its effects daily. From the time I started elementary school, I knew that the other children perceived me differently. My mom wasn’t friends with all of their moms, nor did she help with fundraisers. My dad wasn’t a coach. In most small towns, everyone knows everyone. However, my parents were unknown. I would be treated like a stranger and I was excluded from playing with the other little girls that had nicer clothes. Even now, I imagine that the teachers thought differently of me, too. Maybe they didn’t expect me to succeed. My goal as a future teacher is to give a safe space to all students and make them feel like they belong. My home life wasn’t pleasant during my developmental years either. When children come home from school, they always want a snack or something to eat. To this day, the thought of Maruchan ramen noodles makes me cringe. It was one of the only foods we could afford. I remember, as a six year old, eating bread with only mayonnaise on it because we didn’t have lunch meat. Tranquility was scarce in my household. My father was an alcoholic and drug addict and, although I didn’t understand it, I knew it wasn’t a good thing. My parents would argue constantly from the time I came home from school until the sun went down. I would stay in my room with the door closed so as to not pay attention to the real life problems. Once I saw my father choke my mother and I saw her swing a baseball bat at him. These memories will linger for life, I am afraid. I will forever claim that my source of inspiration is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have made his dream my own and added to it. I want to be an excellent teacher and role model for all the children in my community, including people of color, English language learners, those struggling with poverty, students with disabilities, and every other minority. Like Dr. King, I dream that everyone is loved, accepted, and included. I want to exude this in my personality and when I enter the classroom, I am positive that the students will sense my deep love and appreciate for them. One day, Miss Caudill will give a private school quality education to students from all backgrounds, nationalities, and cultures. All I want in return is for these students to grow up and follow their dreams like I did.

I am hand in hand with two young children wearing puffer coats, helping them cross the street. We are headed to Portsmouth High School, my school, where I volunteer to teach them English as a second language. When I see them excelling, learning the language, and feeling optimistic, I am extremely happy. These young children are my encouragement to work hard and further my education. My name is Scarlett Caudill and I am from a small town called Portsmouth, Ohio. It is a very poor area and it's always been my dream to help the children who have experienced the same obstacles I have. This is how I began volunteering. When I was 14, I met a girl from Mexico who arrived at my high school with no knowledge of English. I had taken one year of Spanish, so I took it upon myself to be her friend and to teach her. Ever since then, I've had a desire to teach. At 16, I noticed many Hispanic students at my school and the elementary school. I wanted to help them, so I showed a Honduran boy around the junior high wing at my school and taught him how to use a locker. I also showed him his classes when the translator was not available. Soon thereafter, I began to go to the Spanish classroom during my lunch period and volunteer to give some extra help to one of the new students from Mexico. I would go to the copy room and begin with the English alphabet. We began to sound out short words and, to my surprise, he was catching on quickly. This is when the Spanish teacher, Mrs. Darnell, and the school translator, Taitlyn Dutey, took me aside and asked if I would like to help with an after school program for students learning English as a second language. I agreed immediately and showed up almost every day for two hours after school, except for Fridays. Students from the high school and elementary school were taught and I enjoyed it greatly. I developed a deep connection with the students and can relate to them. It's scary to be in a new country where you don't understand anyone. Sadly, since the COVID-19 pandemic has plagued the United States, I have been unable to volunteer in this way. I have still volunteered all I can with an organization in my community called the Friends of Portsmouth. I am always happy to go along with them and pick up trash, pull weeds, and gather leaves around the city. Soon, I am going to continue volunteering as a teacher. My close friend has informed me that her younger cousin has come from Mexico and needs to learn English, but nobody has the time or drive to tutor him properly. I told her I would gladly volunteer twice a week to teach him English. It feels amazing being able to do this type of work again because it isn't for me. I love what I do because it allows a new generation of immigrants the opportunity to strive in education and the future workplace. This is my life dream: to teach children English and to give them the hope that they can make it in a new country. I want them to know that someone cares about them and wants them to succeed always.

Hello, I am Scarlett Caudill, an aspiring scholar. My parents never completed college. My mother did not even finish high school because she became pregnant. I've experienced the bounds of poverty and heartache of substance abuse since early childhood. When I was in elementary school, I was relentlessly bullied for my clothes and for not necessarily fitting in. This did not make me hate school, however. I would have done anything to escape my home's constant bickering and the sense of dejecting insecurity I felt there. I remember wondering what was wrong with my father, as he sat in the dark, swigging a tall, brown bottle of booze. I remember shutting myself up in my room, covering my ears, and losing myself in books in an attempt to ignore the relentless shouting and violent sounds of wall-punching. I remember my mother, threatening to leave with me in the middle of the night. I remember praying in bed, with tears streaming down my cheeks, for God to forgive my family. In the morning I would leave for school and live a normal life for eight hours. It was enough for me, to pretend that I was that person. In my heart, I was that person, I suppose. Reading and writing held me together. My imagination soared and grew each day. Countless hours I'd spend in the library, reading and using the Internet because I didn't have it at home. From a young age, I knew that I needed to break the hateful cycle of unhappiness and drug use and that it wouldn't be easy. Suddenly, I met the most compassionate and kind lady in the world- my 7th grade English teacher. She always counted on me to do the right thing and to be true to myself. I entered a writing competition and won third place, thanks to her. This made me realize that I had the potential to do something with my life. My parents have always urged me to go to university, so I would not end up in a similar situation to the one they are in. I know what I want to do, though. Last year, I began to teach English as a second language to Hispanic and Chinese students. I've been learning Spanish for five years, so I am at a bit of an advantage in this area. I feel that I have to help and encourage impoverished and disadvantaged children for the rest of my life. This has inspired me greatly and now I would like to become a teacher someday. When I see children going through similar, or worse, experiences to what I have, it makes me feel sorrowful. I know that they need help and I would do anything to support them. I want these young, bright children to know that it isn't their fault. They need to know that someone believes in them because that's what I needed at their age.