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This photo is of my at my elementary school walk through before graduation! These are two students that had the same first grade teacher as me.

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Since I was young I knew that I wanted to work somewhere with kids. I never quite knew what it would be but I knew that I was really good at working with those younger than me. My mom has been a teacher since I was in 4th grade, and I have always wanted to be just like my mom but never really thought about being a teacher. In junior high and high school the only jobs I ever had were working with and taking care of children. In high school I worked at my church, basically running the children's ministry area. I taught Sunday school to preschoolers and kindergarteners every Sunday and loved it. It was my favorite part of my week. In the summers I spend my time at camp pouring into campers ages 2nd grade to 9th grade. I love working with kids, I am good at it, and it's my passion. I decided I didn't want to be a teacher when I was in high school; I was stubborn and convinced that I could be whatever I wanted and that just because I was good with kids that didn't mean that I had to be a teacher. Some of the older people in my life, that I looked up to, told me that if I wasn't a teacher that it would be a waste of talent, and that really bothered me, just because i'm good with kids it doesn't mean I can't do something else with my life. I decided I was going to be a nurse at a children's hospital. I could make more money, help and care for those around me, and work with kids. It was the perfect plan, until I got to college.

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This photo is of me when I first got to school and had just rushed my sorority. Right before my first semester and classes started.

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Coming into college I knew what I wanted to do. I was going to be a CRNA. I would become a nurse and work in a children's hospital. I started my classes last semester and I was excited. I didn't like science that much but it was okay because it was going to get me to becoming a nurse. I started to really struggle in my classes. I was falling behind and just unhappy all the time. I didn't enjoy anything about my classes, and they all made me feel like I didn't belong here. I had never made below an A in a class before and I was petrified of failing at this brand-new thing in my life. I decided to just suffer through. I went to tutoring, I asked my friends for help, I even pulled all-nighters to study for my exams; and still, I just couldn't focus and didn't understand my classes. After midterms, I was talking to one of my friends in my sorority and she said to me "Why don't you just change your major? It seems like you really don't enjoy it and you just don't seem happy."

So, I started thinking. The thought of being a teacher had always been in the back of my mind but I just didn't want everyone else to be right. Again, stubborn. I thought about it while I was in class and texted my mom to see what she thought. So that day I went with my friend to see her grandma who works in the education program and decided that I was going to change my major. Her grandma gave me everything I needed to pick my classes and plan the rest of my semesters, and I was already relieved. I dropped my chemistry class and focused on my other core classes more. I knew that the choice I made was right. I was already happier and more excited about my classes that semester. Being in education classes for the last two semesters has given me so much more joy than my pre-nursing classes. I am excited to learn and already so excited to become a teacher.

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The photos above are of my mom's Kindergarten classroom. Her classroom was always in a flexible seating arrangement which allowed her students to learn comfortably.

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I plan on doing the 4 year program for my degree. After I graduate I would like to teach at a lower class school district. I grew up going to a title I school district and had such a diverse group of people to grow up with. I learned so much from my peers and wouldn't trade my experiences for the world. I want to teach in the lower grades, at the oldest 4th grade. I want to stay in Arkansas, and plan on moving back to NEA to teach. I also know that I would want to coach while teaching. I grew up playing sports and have always looked up the people that coached me and I hope to someday make that same impact on athletes. I want my classroom to be a warm and inviting environment for my students and others! I know that students learn the most when they are comfortable and know that they are safe. I can only hope that someday I will be that space for my future students that don't have that at home.