BIO 1

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

Autobiographical
Crissie Gard
Instructor Dr. Dave Makings
EDUC 201: Foundations of Education
Spring, 2013

BIO 2
Autobiographical Essay
My name is Crissie Gard. I have a husband named Courtney and two sons
named Domanic and Hayden. I have a zoo of animals that live in my house and I
love all of them like they are part of the family. I am a very outgoing and a bit weird,
but I love being different and making people laugh. I have to admit that I havent
always wanted to teach. I decided about five years ago that teaching was my
passion only because I was volunteering with my oldest sons kindergarten class. I
enjoyed volunteering with kids way more than I ever thought I would. My children
are the most important part of my life. I believe I am a good parent and that I have
a lot to offer as an educator. I just love the way the kids look up to me when I get to
show them how to do new things. I really care about children and how they learn
and progress through school. I know I cant be a mom to all of the kids, so being an
educator is the next best thing. I get to watch them grow and learn and see the
milestones they make every day. I think that seeing the milestones children make is
the best part of being a mother so being able to see that with children, other than
my own, as a profession, will be very rewarding.
Educational Background
I grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho and went to grade school at Harrison
Elementary. I was ready for school long before they would let me in. I always had
good grades and was always on the honor roll. During elementary school I won first
place in Magic Valleys Young Authors for a story about a troll. I love to tell stories
and am currently writing three books. My books are non-fictional but I would love to
write childrens books with fantasy and happy endings. I went to Robert Stuart
Junior High School. I played volley ball and was on the track team. I wrestled a little

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and played football. I was very good at math and I loved science. During junior high
school I was awarded the Presidents Award for Educational Excellence and have a
certificate signed by the President of the United States at that time, Bill Clinton. My
last year in junior high school I was awarded a Distinguished Team Scholastic Award
by the Idaho High School Activities Association for having higher than a 3.5 grade
point average throughout junior high school. When I got to Twin Falls Senior High
School I had less time for sports but I found my new passions, anatomy and
physiology and pottery. I took both classes three years in a row. When I wasn't
enrolled in those classes, I was either a student aid or helped out on my off hour in
those two classes. I was probably in those two classes three or more times a day.
During high school I was selected to be featured in a book called Whos Who Among
American High School Students for my academic achievements. I was also invited to
become a member of a scholarship program called Presidential Classroom. At that
time I was really considering becoming a medical doctor and the Presidential
Classroom had to do with government and politics so, unfortunately, I never
participated in the program. During my last year of high school I was invited to
travel to Washington D.C. for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine
because of all the work I had done in Anatomy and Physiology class and Chemistry
class. To my dismay, I was unable to attend due to the cost of traveling. I missed out
on a huge opportunity and regret it to this day. By the time I was finished with high
school I really was uninterested in school altogether. I had been shuffled around and
misguided by the councilors because there were over a thousand kids in my
graduating class. There just was not enough time for all of us to be guided the way
we should have been.

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After I graduated I went straight into the military and signed up for twenty
years. I wanted to travel and see the whole world. I was in for a year on the delayed
entry program, I was waiting for my sister to have her first baby, when they found
out I had cancer. I was approved for medical discharge immediately. All of my hopes
for the future went out the window in a second. I was enrolled in the medic program
while I was in the military and had dreams of finishing my medical degree while with
the United States Navy. I ended up raising my nephew so my sister could finish high
school. I knew I wanted kids and a family the first moment I met him. I was always
so caught up with what I was doing for myself that raising kids was the very last
thing on my mind until I was literally forced into it. I love my nephew as if he were
my own child and I raised him for the first two years of his life. He was more like a
son to me than a nephew. Now I have three nephews and one niece, along with my
own two children, and I love them all like they were my own. I know now that
raising and teaching children is something I truly love and value more than
anything. I am so glad I was guided down this path in my life because I found out
what I was supposed to do. I could have given up after I was discharged from the
military and never done anything with my life but that little boy helped me see who
I really am and who I wanted to be.
Work History
I started my first job at Dairy Queen when I was fifteen years old. I worked
there until I was twenty three. I was very shy and could barley talk to people when I
first started working. I learned about customer service and how to make ice cream
treats. I became a manager and I matured a lot during my time there. I got married
and had kids during my time there, but my life was still not where I wanted it. I quit
twice so I could go back to school or find a better job, but I always ended up going

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back. I didn't want to work at Dairy Queen for the rest of my life even though I loved
my friends there and loved how fast paced it was. I worked at the Walmart in Burley
as a manager in the sporting goods and the pet departments. I also worked in the
tire-lube express before I went back to Dairy Queen. I started working with my
parents doing construction when I came back to Twin Falls. They run their own
business and I figured I could work certain hours and have time to continue going to
school while I was working with them. I did go back to school for a year but trying to
raise kids, go to school, and work when my kids were young, was very hard for me. I
ended up quitting school and waiting about five years so they were in school at the
same time I was. I worked with my parents for about four years then went to work
at the local gym as a personal trainer. I tore all the muscles in my shoulder, while
working with a client and had to have surgery. I wanted to go back to work with my
parents, but due my injury, was unable to. I loved working with my parents every
day and I really enjoyed the hard work. I liked being dead tired when I got home. I
regret not being able to work with them anymore, but it gave me every opportunity
to pursue a degreel. I really couldn't do construction my whole life like my dad has.
My dad is my hero, but he has no retirement and has never had benefits or
insurance. I want to secure my future with an education and a career. I want to
make sure I have a steady income to be able to take care of my family. I want to be
able to do all of the things with my children that I was unable to do when I was a
kid. I know that becoming an educator will help me achieve those goals.
I believe that I will be a good teacher because I have experience as a
manager teaching others how to do a specific job. I also have experience working in
an environment where I have to make my time count and to get things done before
deadlines while stressing for perfection. I know that teaching has its stresses, but it

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will be rewarding in the end when I will be able to say I have taught a child to read
and write. Something so basic yet so fulfilling when you know these are skills a child
will need for the rest of his or her life.
Service and/or Extracurricular Activities
I started substitute teaching a few years ago. I absolutely enjoy it more than
any other job I have ever done. I also volunteer with a first grade teacher and her
students. My youngest son was in her class for his first grade year. I helped out as
much as I could with class parties and just reading with the kids for a few hours a
day. I try to volunteer as much as possible. I go in the mornings and do anything the
teacher doesn't have time for. I read with kids, help them with their work, and test
them. I make copies, staple papers, and I am in charge of making the kids
portfolios. I love to read to the class and do art projects. The teacher and I have
become very good friends. She is my mentor and has becomelike a second mom to
me. I hope that I can be at least half the teacher she is. I know that this is where I
was meant to be all along! I also like to be head room mom for both my kids
classes. I plan parties and call other parents to help out. I love the end of the year
party the most. We get to have snacks and play games outside. A lot of parents
come to help out with this party. It is as fun for the parents as it is for the kids.
Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career
For me, being an educator is the most rewarding job I think I could ever have.
I love children and being able to show them how and why things work. I know from
my own experience as a mother that children do not judge you or your faults. They
are very accepting and adaptable. They love you for whom and what you are no
matter what your situation is. Kids are loyal and brutally honest even when they

BIO 7
shouldn't be. The most rewarding part of being an educator is almost the same as
being a parent; you get to be part of a childs life and watch them grow and learn
new things. With the right tools, a child could grow up and do so much for other
people or our world. I want to be the one who helps gives these children the tools
they need to become wonderful and educated adults, even if it is only one step in a
whole life time of learning.
Professional Goals
A short term goal for me is get my degree and start teaching within the next
two years. I would love to teach first or second grade even though I think
kindergarten through second are the hardest grades. I would love the challenge and
would strive in a fast paced classroom such as first grade. I am sure I will continue
going to school for the next year and reach my goals within my time frame. A long
term goal I look forward to is maybe becoming a professor at a small university or
maybe to fulfill my lifetime goal of becoming a forensic scientist.
Conclusion
I believe that every child deserves a chance to learn and grow with no restraints. I
want to be one that helps them get the tools necessary for further growth and
change for a better future. I believe I have so much to offer as an educator. I would
love the challenge of developing lesson plans that change as our technology and
education changes. I love to push myself and strive for excellence. I want to be the
best of the best and I think being an educator is the way to get there. Learning is
power and no one can ever take away what you have learned.