My Why!

The story of how I became a teacher is rather a long one. When I first started college, I went with the intention of becoming a veterinarian. That was always my dream. The first semester of college went by fast but yet I had this nagging feeling that this wasn’t going to make me happy. I just kept thinking about the possibility of teaching and coaching. . It finally clicked when a Veterinarian that works in town came and gave a lecture and I realized that I am no longer passionate about being a vet, especially with that giant student loan bill that comes with it after graduation and the chance of not making it into vet school on my first or even second attempt.

I always thought how cool it would be to be able to teach and even coach. So I changed my major to become an Ag teacher. This way all my Ag credits counted and I would still graduate on time. Yet I still had this nagging feeling about wanting to coach and realizing that being an Ag teacher I was not able to do both.

So yet again I changed my major. This time to History with a Secondary Teaching Certificate and a minor in Political Science. Why history? Because it is the BEST subject EVER!! I have always loved history because it is a giant story that never ends with multiple perspectives. What a perfect subject for someone that loves to read these types of stories! Not to mention every time I went into the history department I felt at home.

Now the reason I wanted to teach and coach was because it truly is something I am passionate about. I changed my major 3 times even though it always nagged me from the beginning. When a teacher says it's their passion and they were called towards this job they mean it because it called me! I wanted to help students fall in love with history the same way I did. I had an amazing history teacher in middle school and I wanted to impact students the way she impacted me. The coaching is because I had an amazing coach that brought the love of what she was coaching and never gave up on me. I wanted to impact students and show them the love and discipline that sports instills in them along with helping them grow to be the best person they can be!

I have to admit I wanted either LakeView or Lincoln because I was a North Side kid along with my siblings and even my husband and his sibling. We all went to Lincoln and Lake View. I wanted to change the perspective and stigma that seemed to still be around the North Side since when I went through. I was tired of always walking into a gym while traveling for sports and hearing, “Oh look it’s Lincoln or Lake View, this should be easy,” or “It’s just Lincoln/Lake View, they always lose so it's not surprising.” I wanted to change that mentality for not only the school but the kids as well. The students that go through those halls are so much more than those stigmas and perceptions. I wanted to help show them and the community that you are more than what others say and help build the generation(s) that will finally prove just how great these schools truly are.. So when I was offered a job at Lincoln I accepted it without hesitation and it was the best decision ever.