Erica A.

Kettlewell
Present: 1430 Charles Ave., Apt. 208 |Alma, MI 48801 Permanent: 1889 Baden Strasse | Gaylord, MI 49735 Phone: (989) 331-4291 Email: kettlewell1ea@alma.edu

Candidates Statement
For

Erica A. Kettlewell
I was born and raised in once a small town but has expanded rapidly: Gaylord, Michigan. My family on my Moms side is polish and immigrated to the town over a hundred years ago. With that being said, I have a lot of family in this area of Michigan! Growing up, I was lucky enough to always have family to support me at my basketball games and my band concerts. One of my core values is family and it is so inspiring to know that I have people who will unconditionally care for me. Although I come from a working family and they did not attend a college, my parents always stressed the value of education. I always knew in High School I wanted to further my education to find a career. My goal was to find something I wanted to spend the rest of my career doing and work as hard as I could to get there. Also, when I began paying for my tuition I believe my motivation to succeed to the best of my ability increased because I did not want to waste a penny. My Alma College experience is something I am extremely thankful for because I believe I received an education that will prepare me for the social and working world. I truly feel I experienced the liberal arts education and many courses and topics are integrated and connected. Throughout my time at Alma, my Elementary Education professors cared about us as people and our success inside and outside of the classroom. These experiences at Alma shaped who I am as a person and as a future educator. In the near future, my goal is to find a job and an area to settle down to start a family. Being a teacher is my passion but my goal is to bring passion to my future students. My future goal is show my students they can succeed and pursue whatever they set their minds on. I do aspire to one day find a leadership position in the community where I am teaching in order to give back. Also, I am very passionate about sports and many of my coaches growing up gave me inspiration. One day, I want to provide that inspiration and motivation to other athletes. I believe children have to right to feel comfortable and safe in their environment so that enjoying learning is capable. Teaching students in ways that connect to their world and their abilities will ensure individual success in my classroom and hopefully outside the classroom as well. Learning should be facilitated by constructing their own knowledge through inquiry and critical thinking. I believe students must be able to generate and produce independent thought as well as build upon and enhance new thoughts with fellow classmates. When learning, I believe students need to be taught in a differentiated manner by touching, seeing, and hearing. Teaching needs to involve active engagement with hands-on and minds-on learners. All in all, teachers need to support and connect with their students to ensure respect and comfort in the classroom.