Throughout our lives, we have the opportunity to interact and learn from scores of individuals. Whether it is our friends, family members or co-workers, each person has the ability to make an impact on our lives, both positive and negative. One individual who has had a positive impact on my life is Mrs. Shannon Winchester, my former Advance Placement United States History teacher at Weddington High School. Yet, after I concluded my time in her classroom, she not only became a person I deeply admire, but someone who I aspire to become one day.
Growing up, I was socially awkward and lacked confidence outside of school. While I was successful in my classes, this success was not noticeable in my daily interactions with others. It was difficult
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Throughout the course, we were assigned two texts to read: “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn and “A Patriot’s History of the United States” by Michael Allen and Larry Schweikart. These two texts take opposite historical standpoints; Zinn’s standpoint is presented through a leftist lens, while Allen and Schweikart take a more conservative approach. After we read a certain section of each book, we would devote an entire day of class to discussing what we learned from each section. While at first I was nervous about coming off as a nuisance, Mrs. Winchester personally pushed me to interact in the discussion more, saying that my written work was proof enough that I had intelligent things to say. Thus, I took a chance and argued my points. At first, I was extremely uncomfortable with speaking in front of the class, but I was willing to take more chances with my observations, more students began to remark how they agreed with my points. As more students replied in agreement, these seminars ended up serving as a big confidence booster and gave me the skills to better interact with not only peers, but also adults. I truly believe that without participating in these seminars as a result of Mrs. Winchester’s encouragement, I would not have earned the rank of Eagle Scout as easily, as some portions of the Eagle Scout project require presenting in front of a group of adult
Through serving in various leadership roles, I reignited my passion for mentoring and fostering lasting relationships. Particularly as a science teaching assistant, I became a leader and counselor by teaching classes, utilizing metaphors to explain complex science, and encouraging others by relating to their struggles. Also, I discovered the importance of truly being in the moment by being receptive to others’ unvoiced problems. Most notably, this position taught me that we can all learn something new from each other as I experienced before with Abby. All these benefits incited me to create a mentorship program on my college campus that pairs accomplished seniors with younger students. As someone who entered college feeling unprepared, I felt it beneficial for others in similar situations to have a role model whom they can trust for encouragement and
Today as I sit in a graduate class I realize how closer I am getting to the dream I once had as a child. I, Dominique Jerome a Haitian-American always dreamt of being a teacher at a high school and college level. My love for history has grown each and everyday from the second I started attending primary school. As I sit back and recollect on myself as a maker, I realize without my culture, my motivation, my family and passion I would not be where I am at today. My hopes and dreams are to be an asset to the world of academia whether it’s in the classroom or outside the classroom.
Over the years I have spent working on my education, I have encountered numerous teachers who have had a significant impact on who I am as a person and how I conduct myself. One such person was an English teacher of mine Mrs. Schwartz. She was my teacher for honors English 10 and advanced placement English 12. Mrs. Schwartz was always a very kind woman. She always encouraged us and pushed us to do our best. She was like a mother figure to those in her classroom; it was obvious she cared about each and every one of us and how to help us reach our educational potentials. I still remember when we were assigned our end of the year portfolio, I chose a short story by Neil Gaiman to analyze. Unbeknownst to me, Neil Gaiman was a favorite author of
I graduated with a class of ninny-nine kids and now I have a Math lecture with four-hundred kids. This class didn’t only help me with my leadership skills but it helped me learn and really help my final transition of being apart of such a huge community. Learning how to become a better leader helped me become a better person in general. It can be as small as giving someone a complement on a good deed they did or something as big as changing a person’s life around for the better. Knowing that the way you use certain nouns can really have an impact on people. Something you don’t think twice about can have an effect on someone for
Teachers have a positive influence on many students lives. One teacher has made a huge impact on my life. Mrs. X has always helped me and made a huge impact on my life. She always listened to what I had to say and she helped me learn.
It took me eighteen years to realize what an extraordinary influence my mother has been on my life. She' s the kind of person who has thoughtful discussions about which artist she would most want to have her portrait painted by (Sargent), the kind of mother who always has time for her four children, and the kind of community leader who has a seat on the board of every major project to assist Washington' s impoverished citizens. Growing up with such a strong role model, I developed many of her enthusiasms. I not only came to love the excitement of learning simply for the sake of knowing something new, but I also came to understand the idea of giving back to the community in exchange for a new sense of life, love, and spirit.
As a result, I’m a confident person now. I got used to the environment at the dance studio and was able to share my personal stories with my co-dancers. I developed the ability to talk to other people. I used my past lack of confidence to help other people out. For example, during this past summer, I was in charge of a basketball camp and helped the kids who were shy to come in the front and introduce themselves. I also raise my hand in class whenever the teacher asks a question, and I make friends playing basketball at the
Before I tried out for my 7th grade cheerleading team I was an extremely unconfident, young girl. I did have friends and would talk to them a lot, but they were people I had been around for years. Anytime I met someone new, it would only be because they were friends of my close friends, but I didn’t always talk to them, I would just stand or sit there and not really say anything. If I had classes with no one I knew, I would never talk to anyone unless I was forced to. I had plenty of amazing opportunities that were offered to me, but the lack of confidence I had had held me back from doing things that could have benefited me later in life.
I was not always a social and outgoing individual and I considered myself unlucky in life. I never stood out and did not have enough confidence to attempt to do so, not until one day in middle school. My Mathematics professor gave us an unexpected test. A lot of my classmates did not do well and I was sure I would be one of them. To my greatest surprise I scored the highest in the class with an A on the test. She called me aside after that class to talk about how I could develop my Math skills. She also ...
I felt uncomfortable and nervous (in all honesty, I still am) meeting strangers, consequently this did not help that fact in my first year. Seeing how I had no choice in the matter, I became cooperative and thoughtful of others; it was cause of this, I felt assured and at ease for my unaccustomed school year.
As I was pondering what to speak about tonight, I started thinking about what has been the main influence in my school experience. I realized that what has shaped me most has been my teachers. What is a teacher? After 13 years of school, believe me, I have an extremely good idea of what a teacher is. Two teachers began to teach me, my father and my mother. The poet Ann Taylor wrote, "Who taught my infant lips to pray, And love God’s holy book and day, And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way? My Mother."
Before high school I was very soft spoken and shy. I was not a good public speaker and did not enjoy it. This was the main reason why my dad encouraged me to take debate my Freshman year.
Envision a world wherein many students are lost when a college instructor opens a textbook filled with the works of authors from the ancient world. Does this even happen in colleges and universities? This does happen in classrooms around the world, and I want to be able to impact the future generations that will one-day grace the halls of a college or university. Education impacts an individual’s life every day, and I have always envisioned myself educating students to a greater extent than many students would feel capable of accomplishing.
Throughout life, many people and events have a major impact on future decisions that will, hopefully, lead to great success. For myself, deciding on pursuing English Education changed my life for the better. All my life, I had always wanted to become a type of doctor, from pediatric oncologist to gynecologist. As I aged, however, I realized I was not the type of person who was ambivalent about working late and fickle hours my whole life, especially since I planned on having a family at some point. Once I had this realization there was some thinking I had to do in order to figure out what I was meant to become. Eventually, with the help of a teacher, I discovered the love I had for education. Without this teacher, I may have never realized my calling. This was Mrs. Vorhis.
As a young child I was a non social person, and did not like to participate in anything. I liked to be an individual person, and do things on my own. I was shy and not outgoing like all my other friends were. When I enter a situation for the first time, I have a hard time speaking up until I feel comfortable. As being as shy as I was, my school work was affected a lot because I would not raise my hand to ask questions if I did not understand something, or go to the teacher for help. It was hard to transition from that stage to being more outgoing and talk more with my peers. It was difficult to communicate with others becuase of this as well, i was not able to be the perosn that i really am.