I am currently a student at Whitworth University pursuing a degree in education, but my path to this field began long before college. I grew up navigating school with dyslexia, ADHD, high functioning autism, synesthesia, and Irlen syndrome. Because reading and language processing were especially difficult for me, I spent much of my education on an IEP and often struggled to keep up in traditional classrooms. What shaped me the most were the moments when my learning differences were misunderstood. I was sometimes discouraged from challenging opportunities and told that college might not be realistic for me. Those experiences were painful, but they also gave me a perspective that many future educators never experience firsthand. I know what it feels like to sit in a classroom and believe you are not capable. I know how discouraging it can be when a student’s effort is overlooked because their learning looks different. Those experiences are what led me to pursue teaching. I want to create classrooms where students with special needs are not defined by their challenges, but supported in ways that help them succeed. My goal is to make sure that students who struggle academically still feel capable, valued, and encouraged to reach their full potential. I want to be the teacher who recognizes a student’s effort, adapts instruction when needed, and reminds them that learning differently does not mean learning less. Through volunteer work and helping others academically, I have learned how powerful patience and encouragement can be. When students feel safe to ask questions and make mistakes, they become more confident in their ability to learn. I have also learned that advocacy is incredibly important. Many students with special needs rely on others to help ensure they receive the support they deserve, and I hope to be someone who actively advocates for those students throughout my career. I plan to make a difference by building classrooms that are inclusive, supportive, and understanding of different learning styles. Students with special needs often carry feelings of frustration or self doubt, and teachers have the power to either reinforce those feelings or help students overcome them. I want to be the teacher who helps students recognize their strengths and believe in their potential. Financially, scholarships play an important role in allowing me to continue my education. Pursuing a teaching degree requires significant financial commitment, and support from scholarships allows me to stay focused on my studies and preparation to serve students with diverse learning needs. My experiences have given me a deep understanding of the challenges students with special needs face, but they have also given me the motivation to change those experiences for future students. I want to ensure that students who learn differently are not overlooked, but instead encouraged, supported, and reminded that they are fully capable of success.

I never planned to become a teacher. I honestly never even thought I would graduate high school, let alone a 4 year college. I had struggled in school since I was put into it. When I was younger, I was homeschooled in a small, close knit community, and I loved it. I would sit in trees finishing my homework, run around outside after my lessons, and spend time with my church friends. Learning felt calm and natural. But everything changed in fifth grade when my mom realized how much I was struggling with reading and writing. After several evaluations, we learned that I had dyslexia, ADHD, high functioning autism, synesthesia, and Irlen syndrome. Overnight, learning stopped feeling simple and started feeling like something I had to fight through every day. My mom enrolled me in public school so I could receive academic support, but instead of finding understanding, I often found humiliation. I was placed in special education classes and quickly realized that many people saw my learning differences as weaknesses. Some classmates made fun of me, but what hurt the most were the moments when teachers treated me as if I was incapable. There are a couple moments throughout my education that really stick with me. One moment was in a sixth grade ELA room. Since I have dyslexia, I sometimes mix up lowercase letters like b, d, p, and q. I knew how to spell the words I was writing, but the letters could blur together when I wrote them. To make sure my teacher knew I understood, I sometimes wrote those letters in uppercase instead. One day my teacher held up my homework in front of the entire class and mocked me for not knowing when to use uppercase and lowercase letters. When I tried to explain that I had dyslexia, he told me that since I was a sixth grader and “should know my alphabet,” I would now have to stand in front of the class and read the alphabet for the rest of the period until I understood it. Standing there in front of my classmates, embarrassed and humiliated, I felt like I had been reduced to the worst thing people thought about me. In that moment, I truly believed I was not smart enough for school, in fact, it was the first time in my life I remember feeling like a true failure. Unfortunately, moments like this continued as I got older. Advocating for myself became difficult, so my mom often had to speak up for me to make sure my IEP accommodations were followed. Even then, we constantly had to fight for them. One of the hardest experiences came with my high school chemistry teacher. When my mom asked that my accommodations be respected, the teacher pulled me aside in class where my mom couldn’t speak for me and said, “Do you really need your mommy to talk for you? You’re in high school. you need to grow up.” She also would tell me that I did not “look disabled.” I would often leave her class crying, feeling ashamed of struggles I could not control. This brings me to my inspiration for being a teacher. Since I had experiences like these, there was a time when I believed I would never succeed academically. Some teachers openly discouraged me from challenging myself. When I expressed interest in Running Start, I was told it would be too difficult for someone like me. I was warned that college would be unrealistic in my life and that I should look for other opportunities. For a while, I almost believed them. But something inside me refused to give up. I had spent years being told what I could not do, and I decided I wanted to find out what I could do instead. I worked harder than I ever had before. I learned how to adapt to my learning differences instead of fighting for accommodations, I learned to ask for help, and keep pushing forward even when it felt impossible. Today, I am proud to say that I proved all those expectations wrong. Despite every obstacle, despite being told I was not capable, I graduated high school, finished running start with an AA degree and am now a college student at Whitworth University. After years of feeling like I was falling behind, I made it further than many people believed I ever would and at a younger age than most. That journey that life through at me is exactly why I want to become a teacher. I know what it feels like to sit in a classroom believing you are not good enough. I know what it feels like when teachers underestimate you or fail to understand how you learn. But I also know how powerful it can be when someone finally believes in you. I want to be the teacher I once needed. I want to stand in front of students who feel overlooked or discouraged and show them that their challenges do not define their future. I want them to know that no matter what they are going through, they can succeed. Most importantly, I want them to know that even when everything feels stacked against them, they are still capable of achieving their dreams. Because I did.