Written+Statement

Prior to graduating college, I was able to gain teaching experience that also helped guide me in my decision to change my career path. While in college I was a volunteer tutor at a local school in Champaign, IL. I was placed with an at-risk youth and also acted as her mentor. When I first started to work with her, she was in danger of being held back a year. Both of her older siblings had already been held back previously, so that was her expectation for herself as well. Although challenging at first, once I was able to create a relationship of mutual respect and trust between the two of us, I saw a remarkable improvement in her grades, her attitude towards her education, as well as her self-esteem. While I was not able to follow up with her progress in the following years, her changes in her enthusiasm and her progress in that short time has stuck with me to this day. I recently began volunteering at Thomasboro Elementary in the Fall of 2010 as a student mentor as well as a reading tutor for at-risk students and I hope to create a relationship and make a similar impact with the students there as I did when I with the student I worked with in college. In addition to volunteering, I spent 2 summers as the head swim coach and swim instructor at the local park district in my neighborhood. The ages of children ranged from 3-14. As a former successful competitive swimmer, I hope to have the opportunity to coach swimming or another competitive activity again.

I currently hold a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. I have spent the majority of my post-collegiate years working in sales in different industries ranging from selling to Fortune 500 companies to Surgeons. In the 9 years since I have graduated I have been exposed to many opportunities and experiences. After careful review, I found one thing remained constant no matter what job I was performing. I was only truly satisfied with my job when it required teaching someone a new skill or guiding someone through the steps to overcome a challenge. My motivation was watching others overcome obstacles and solving problems, learning new fields and new technologies, and being directly involved in their success. I believe that the basis of teaching encompasses everything that motivated me in all of the jobs I have held, which made my decision a very simple decision.

Having lived in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C prior to moving Charlotte, I have been exposed firsthand and embraced the character and diversity of American culture. While living in DC, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in a wide variety of international cultures and interact daily with individuals from a multitude of different countries, even continents. This learning opportunity allowed me to build a great understanding of not only the vast differences but also the similarities between international and American cultures, religions, and traditions that can only be learned from direct experience.

I am an only child, and although I have not lived at home in over a decade, I remain extremely close to my parents and they have shaped who I am today. They have always been, and will always be my role models. In my free time I enjoy spending quality time with my 'fur kids' Ana and Neele, a spunky Scottish Terrier and your stereotypical white cat. I also write short fiction stories about their many adventures. I also enjoy kickboxing, spinning, blogging, collecting meaningful quotes and putting them into scrapbooks, and reading political op-eds (a side effect of living in the nation's capital). I am an avid NFL and NCAA football fan and a die hard Duke Basketball fan and have been since I was a child, and I enjoy watching, but not playing, golf. I find it to be soothing. My dream is to one day spend at least a month traveling the entire continent of Europe exploring its history and beauty.

My teaching philosophy is that I believe every student has the ability to succeed and is accountable for their success. It is my responsibility as a teacher to ensure they have every opportunity to do so. Focusing on these elements can make this possible. 1. Identifying the educational, emotional, and physical needs of each student and differentiating my instruction based on these needs. 2. Understanding that each student has a different learning style and teaching accordingly. 3. Actively engaging students in each lesson and promoting critical thinking skills. 4. Creating a positive and welcoming learning atmosphere for each student that promotes communication between peers. 5. Establishing and maintaining a trusting relationship with each student. I believe if these elements are met that every student will be not only motivated to learn, but will also succeed in my classroom.



[|Multimedia Project- Teaching ESL Students]