"I always go back to memories of my eighth-grade teacher. He had a lot of passion for his class and put his whole heart into his teaching. He spent time after school talking to the students and getting to know them. While his classes were challenging, the biggest influence he had on us was that he always encouraged us never to give up. I believe his influence is what initially sparked my interest in becoming an educator. I try to emulate this same level of care and consideration with my students now."

"When I first started University, I entered into general studies because I honestly did not know what I wanted to do. I met with a career counselor who performed a Meyers-Briggs personality test on me, to see if we could discover some of my potential interests. She started talking about the path of an educator, and I was hooked. After a few background checks, and some strings pulled, she was able to get me a 1-week volunteer placement at a local elementary school. At the end of that assignment, I knew teaching was my path. I am ever-thankful for her guidance and have never looked back."

"Growing up, both of my parents were educators; my mother, an elementary school teacher and my father, a high-school chemistry teacher. They loved their jobs and in fact, just retired a couple of years ago. The schedules worked well for them, and I was always so proud to see them helping people achieve their educational goals. I have been a teacher for fifteen years now and could not imagine doing anything else."