After Graduation

I just submitted my Teach For America Application. Posted at the end is my letter of intent. This is one of the first steps in to post graduation. Probably like many other college senior, I have no idea where I will be after June 13th. I am excited and nervous.

I am always seeking to learn and my education has been a pivotal part of my life, constantly presenting challenges to overcome. The ability to achieve inside the classroom translates in to a synonymous positive attitude outside the classroom. My Mom has done everything in her power to provide the best opportunity for me to have a complete education.

I never realized how much my Mom has influenced my desire to teach until I examined the motivation behind my Teach For America application. Soon after I was born, my father divorced my Mother and we left Korea when I was two months old, for better opportunities in the America. In downtown Spokane, Washington I attended preschool and kindergarten at the YMCA while my Mom attended community college and consistently worked overtime and graveyard shifts at the post office. We lived in a one bedroom apartment, where she had to consistently quite down our neighbors so I could sleep and have energy for school. She could not afford private school, so she selected an elementary school in the suburbs despite of the hour commute because she knew the education was much better than any school in close to our home. Eventually with a new job, we moved closer to my school. Later, we moved to Beaverton, Oregon for middle and high school and now I’ll be graduating college with a B.S. in Biology, everything started with my Mom’s unending support.

Learning about the achievement gap has opened my eyes to the many children do not have the opportunity my Mom rigorously provided for me to have an education. There is absolutely no reason why poorer regions should lack in the quality of education. Intelligence is malleable; it should not be determined by one’s socioeconomic status. A teacher’s job is not to simply present information, but to foster a student’s learning by any means. My Mom is truly a blessing. She, along with countless teachers, mentors, and friends nourished my learning. I enjoy working with students and I know from my experience that I can make the same meaningful impact through their education.

Through Teach For America, I want provide the opportunity for these students to feel a sense of accomplishment through their own hard work. I want them to feel my support and my complete dedication in and out of the classroom. I want to teach biology in creative and interactive ways to increase the learning outlets for these students. I want to emphasize the lab experience by maximizing the opportunities and stretch out any budget by pursuing material donations from local companies and universities. Labs provide a means for the students to gain a deeper understanding of these topics and create an outlet for a tangible sense of accomplishment through results they can obtain and analyze. My hope is for these students to leave the classroom with the ability to think like scientists and have a yearning to learn.