I was in love with school as a little kid, so I figured...I might as well just plan on hanging out here all the time. Except for a short stint where for some reason, when asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I would answer, "A bartender." Immediately followed by my mom and stepdad sort of cringing and shaking their head at me as if, "Oh jeez, why does she keep saying that..." Maybe I was just trying to mess with them. There's something funny about a 7 year old saying they want to be a bartender though. Did I even know what alcohol was? Anyways. That desire faded.

After I decided I wanted to teach, I spent pretty much the rest of my educational years looking for opportunities to work with kids. I babysat, worked with church camp groups, tutored, childcare (nanny) for family friends, worked in a preschool etc. In high school, I took all of the child development oriented courses. One class included putting together our own preschool for real students, that arrived at the end of the term for a few hours a day for one week. I think they were 4 year olds. That was fun.

I started out at U of O in the Elementary Education program. During the summer (and before college) I would work at my stepdad's mortgage company and babysit when I could. I grew up in the mortgage business, since it was just always around if I needed a job. I enjoyed it too. I was helping people get into homes, which was rewarding. I learned a ton from this experience and I really appreciate the access to the professional world I was given at a very young age. I transferred to Portland State University and continued on the path to be a teacher. I just couldn't handle Eugene anymore, it was too small. I was working in mortgages still, and had a 2nd job too. For a while, I got the taste of making good money and almost quit school. I worked all the time, because I was being greedy, and neglected building my experience with children. Then, I began to justify to myself just working in the mortgage world to make a career, and why would I go back to teaching when I won't make any money? I really think I was a different person for a few months. I took a term off from Portland State to get my ducks in a row. I realized that I had lost touch with why I wanted to teach in the first place; I loved working with children and wanted to be a great teacher in someone's life. I wanted kids to have the positive experience in school that I did. I had never cared about money until I started having some and I really learned a lot about myself during that time. I started up again the very next term, and finished up with a Social Science degree and Elementary Education minor. The social science degree was highly recommended from PSU for teachers. It was a good broad stroke of several classes to take into grad school. The Elementary Ed minor has also been really helpful to have plenty of background into a lot of the topics we study.

After PSU, I got married (the same day as graduation actually) and decided to take a year off between undergrad (which took me 6 years) and graduate school. The plan was to get my Master's degree, just not right away. A friend hooked me up with the Instructional Assistant job at Cathedral School this past year. I was the assistant in the 4th and 5th grade classrooms, as well as the assistant for the Spanish teacher who taught K-8. I also had the pleasure of being at all 3 recess breaks for all grades. Recess was often my favorite since I got to talk to all the kids. And they are just darn funny. I stepped out of my comfort zone as a new employee and started a recess rewards program with the principal. I enjoyed the leadership opportunity to work with the principal and staff for a positive program for the kids. Cathedral was a great experience to learn how the school worked, work with ALL different kids of faculty, work in the classroom, see the magic behind the curtain in the life of a teacher and also to work with children of all ages. It was a good chance for me to test the water. I felt at home when the teachers would ask me to take over a lesson with the whole class (me? really? yes, of course I will!), work in small groups, help with projects, develop curriculum ideas and display student artwork creatively. I was anxious to have my own classroom. This practice and experience was essential to build my confidence in my career choice. The teachers I worked with were great. They knew I wanted to teach so I think they would throw me the reins as much as possible. I fell in love with teaching, if I wasn't there already.

Next, I put all of my eggs in one basket, and only applied to Lewis and Clark. I feel very fortunate to be in this successful program.

I want to be a teacher because I had such great teachers. I am still in close contact with one of my elementary school teachers, and he continues to motivate me today. It's an amazing profession that we have all picked. I love being around children and I look forward to developing my career in education.