Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 1

Autobiographical Essay

Jazmin Fisher

Instructor Shane Brown

EDUC 201 Foundations of Education

Spring 2020
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Introduction

One of the first introductory questions you get in school is ‘what do you want to be when

you grow up?’ This question seems to be repetitive throughout most school careers and the

answer is usually changing. For me, it hasn’t changed all that much. I want to help people, and

teaching is one of the answers that has stuck over the years. Teaching is one of the professions

where I can help, and in my opinion, that is one of the greatest things a person can do.

Education

I completed Elementary school in Wendell Elementary and Bliss School. I also

completed half of middle school in Wendell. After that, I completed the rest of middle school

through Connections Academy and Gooding Middle School. Currently, I am working on

completing my high school diploma through Gooding High School and I will finish that in May.

I am also working on completing my Liberal Arts degree through College of Southern Idaho.

After those are finished, I will start my other degree through College of Southern Idaho in the

Fall of 2020. The teachers that I have had in the past have made such a big impact on me, and

they are what inspired me to look into an education degree. I want to be able to make a positive

difference in the lives of the students I may have in the future. I want to do this because of the

good experiences I have had with all of my teachers in the past.

One specific teacher that stands out is a teacher I had in my sophomore year in high

school. She taught history and English, and I had both of those classes so I had her class two

hours in a row. As classes went on, I realized she truly cared about each of her students. If

someone would mention something wrong she would sit and listen or she would help them to
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figure out what to do. She started everyday with a smile on her face and usually ended it with a

smile also. I feel like she tried to relate to the students individually and form a true connection

with each one of them. It's now my senior year of high school, and I still help in her class

because I love being in her room so much. This experience taught me that making genuine

connections with your students will result in them trusting you and enjoying your class. 

Work Experience

One job that I do quite often is babysitting. I have babysat for a couple of family friends and

have one family that I babysit for at least twice a month or more. This job has resulted in me

enjoying being around children a lot because I just think it’s fun. I think my babysitting jobs

have lead me to wanting to be a teacher. I think this is because I like spending time with kids and

because I like working with the kids also.

The only other actual job I have done is with my mom when she had a cleaning job. She

had to clean a doctor’s office every night, and I usually went with her and helped her clean it,

mopping, sweeping, stuff like housework. We did this every night, Monday- Friday for around a

year and half. After graduation I am going to have to get a job that’s more consistent, but the

ones I’ve had so far have worked for me and my busy schedule.

Service/Extra-Curricular

Throughout high school, I have only done one extracurricular activity. The only activity I did

was a club, and it was HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) Future Health

Professionals. In this organization, we competed in competitions once a year for the State

Leadership Conference, and I even went to nationals with HOSA my sophomore year of high
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school. I have served as president of Gooding High School HOSA for two years now, at the time

of my senior year. The only other thing I did in high school that could be considered

‘extracurricular’ is that I was inducted into Honor Society. I was able to be inducted into Honor

Society because I had a cumulative GPA in high school above a 3.5.

In order to go to nationals for HOSA, I needed to get volunteer hours. The way that I did

this is that I volunteered at a nursing home for around six or seven months. While volunteering

there, I did all sorts of activities with the residents. Some of these activities are bingo, doing their

nails, puzzles, and even decorating the home for different holidays. By doing this, I got upwards

of 150 volunteer hours that I used for HOSA and that qualified me for nationals. I’ve also helped

with the local blood drives a few times for HOSA. After the requirements for HOSA were

completed, I continued to volunteer at the nursing home because I enjoyed it so much, and I only

stopped because of my schedule getting busier.

Why Teach

When I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a teacher. When playing with friends or my

family, I always wanted to play school and be the teacher role. As I’ve grown up over the years,

my mind has changed a couple times as far as what I want to do after high school, but it has

come back to teaching every time. I started out wanting teaching, then it switched to nursing

after a couple months in high school. After that, it switched back to teaching, and then later

switched again to surgery technician as I looked more into medical careers. After all of this

though, I changed my mind again and went back to wanting to be a teacher.

In addition to wanting to do this career since I was a kid, I don’t think I could picture

myself enjoying a career like I would enjoy teaching. I decided to become a teacher for many
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reasons. One reason I decided I wanted to be a teacher is because having the opportunity to make

a difference in a person’s life is very important. If I can encourage someone with my teaching

and make a difference in their life in any way, that is an honor to me. I also decided I wanted to

be a teacher after developing such a good relationship with my favorite teacher at my high

school. She tries to relate to her students in some way and makes everyone feel heard. She tries

to create a bond with each student she can and that makes her class really enjoyable to be in. As

far as what I would find rewarding, seeing a student succeed with my help and guidance would

be such a rewarding experience for me and would be motivation enough to want to teach.

Goals

One of my short-term goals is to finish my high school diploma and my liberal arts

degree so I can start on the rest of my Education degree. Both will be done in May so I can start

the rest of the education degree in the fall semester of this year. Another short-term goal for me

is to have a good attitude every day. Having this goal will help me in the future and will help me

with my future in the education field. Having a good attitude for myself will rub off on my

students in the future and will be a positive experience for them.

One of my long-term goals is to be able to learn how to manage a classroom and put

everything I’ve learned into my job. I hope to be able to learn how to make lessons out of real-

life situations and be able to teach my students about things that matter to them. Another one of

my long-term goals is to pursue a higher degree in education as I go. A higher degree in teaching

would only help me in the long run. I think by getting further education in this field would make

it easier for me to get a job that I want, and it would also benefit my teaching and teaching

techniques.
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Conclusion

I have always wanted to make a difference in someone’s life. The teaching profession is

one where you can make a huge impact on students’ lives and I love that part of it. My past

experiences have given me the motivation to go through with a career choice like this. Knowing

you helped someone is one of the best feelings in my opinion and that is exactly what this career

is.