As a junior at Shippensburg University, I have been asked multiple times, "Why did you choose education as your major?"

I chose education because I believe in education's power to change our world for good.

Without education, our community, country, and the world would fail to progress. It is crucial that we continually grow and educate our youth so that each generation will advance. Every day, education improves lives and in turn, improves society.

When I began my studies at Shippensburg University, I was a psychology major. I was passionate about psychology; however, my mind would constantly drift back to education. When making my decision to change my major to special education and early childhood education with a psychology minor, I found myself thinking about what education means to me.

I believe education has the power to change our world for the better.

Choosing education as my career path is the way I plan on changing the world. My dream is to help students in low-income areas reach and acknowledge their ability to grow past their circumstances.

I did not choose education for myself or the salary. I chose education for my future students.

I will be able to work in a special education or general education classroom. Either career path gives me the ability to teach more than just reading and math. I want my students to have an educator for their safe place when they might not have one at home. I want to greet my students with affection and expectations. I want to hold them accountable and love them through their losses.

I know I am meant to be an educator when I have a student in my classroom look up at me with a good grade on their paper and when a student comes to me in tears because they do not understand. I see the future when I look at the students in the classroom. I want to be the change that my students need.

I chose to be an educator for the victories and the failures, for the A+ students and the students in need.

Being an educator means more than writing math problems on the board for young children to understand. To me, being an educator means growing minds to read and write the laws in which our country lives. Being an educator means opening the minds of children to diversity and the differences that make everyone special. I plan to inform my students about the abilities of others, especially within special education.

I will be a mother, a role model, a mentor, and a friend to every child that walks into my classroom.