Candidate’s Statement

I moved to the city of Greenville, Michigan when I was five years old.  The youngest of three children, I have adopted many of my parents' attributes.  While attending Michigan State University, my parents were raising three children.  They worked hard and persevered to bring their family out of poverty and into prosperity.  Their dedication and resolve are attributes I have adopted and admire.

Education has been considered an extremely valuable and powerful tool in my family.  My siblings and I were expected to take our education seriously and to do our very best in school.  Homework was always to be completed before participating in any extracurricular activities, which taught me to how to prioritize and be disciplined with my time.

As I became involved in competitive sports in high school and college, I was able to learn even more from athletics.  I have dedication and self-motivation from training in the off-season.  Working closely in the heat of the moment with my teammates and coaches has taught me to be an effective communicator, and that cooperation with others is elemental to success.  This hard work, discipline, dedication, communication and cooperation has helped me become a leader by example.

Seeing how much extra time and effort my father put into teaching, I had not even considered being an educator until a teacher of mine approached me.  He observed me helping students with their work and trying to find different ways to explain the material to them.  He thought I was a natural.  I considered this option and decided to pursue it at Alma College.   

The quality of education and the professors I have experienced at Alma College have been exemplary.  The professors impress upon their students the importance of knowing why and how things occur as opposed to simply knowing the answer.  This is an important philosophy that I agree with and will implement in my classroom. 

My future plans are to pursue my Master of Science degree in mathematics or athletic administration.  I am also looking forward to coaching basketball and/or volleyball and getting involved in other high school extracurricular activities.

I believe we should consider all aspects of each student's education.  Students are not only being educated in specific content areas while in class; they are also learning social behavior.  Along with giving students a sound academic foundation, we need to model for our students the behavior we expect for them to demonstrate.  We must teach them to be people of character who can then become productive members of society.