Although I became a mother at the young age of 21, I married my best friend and went on to start my career in the Armed Forces. My time in the military was spent in the very northern part of New York called Fort Drum. Fort Drum was about 15 minutes away from Canada so the majority of our training was conducted in multiple feet of snow and freezing cold conditions. The Army was tough, but my upbringing was tougher, so I was preconditioned for difficult challenges and overcoming obstacles. The main lesson I learned from my time in the military, after I had my twins, was the amount of sacrifices I was willing to take for success. Spending so much time away from my children was not the kind of success I desired, so I finished out my contract and moved down to Virginia; with warm whether and a place for me to start over in a career I can be proud of without sacrificing my time with my family.

So this is where I am; studying both my passions, Art and Education. I realized that my time as an assistant teacher, prior to the military, was the happiest and proudest I had been within my career. Teaching has allowed me to be the mother I want to be, while still dedicating my time to a job where I can utilize my artistic abilities and employ my organizational skills I acquired from my short time in the military.

A teacher who pushes her student to take risks. I want to be the teacher who is remembered as that one teacher who believed in a student when they felt overlooked and neglected. My overall goal is to find the perfect balance between steadfastness and easygoing. I want to be trusted by my students to guide them in academics and in life.

Growing up in the neighborhood I grew up in, many of us went to school to stay out of trouble but never dreamed of being successful enough to have a life that would outgrow the poverty that was our lives. In truth, we lacked the academic resources and some of the educators that truly wanted to make a difference. I remember watching Dangerous Minds and relating all too well with the students in the film. As I became older, and remembering that film, I stopped resonating with the students as much and started resonating with the teacher. She is the definitive representation of the teacher I strive to be. Passionately challenging, innovatively motivated and fearlessly resilient. Her position in her will to believe in her students is so powerful that they begin to believe in themselves. As cliché as it sounds, I want to be the teacher that makes a difference and becomes a significant educator in my students’ minds and hearts.