Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 1

Autobiographical Essay

Steffany Nicole Leavitt

College of Southern Idaho

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Abstract
This paper is the autobiography of my life; what I have done, gone through, and succeeded in,

thus far, and my journey to becoming a teacher, and what I hope to fulfill by doing so. It starts

off with my own personal education and what I have accomplished with that, then it leads into

my work history and what I have been able to learn from my work and carry on with me. I then

go on to write about the services I have done and their importance to my journey on becoming a

professional educator. Then it goes on to list the reasons of why I want to be a teacher and what I

plan to achieve with my students. Finally, my autobiography ends with my long- and short-term

goals. The reader will get to learn about my hopes and dreams, and what I want to accomplish

when I become a teacher.

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Autobiographical Essay
It was always easy for me to let others know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I

always knew that I wanted to help others and influence others to see how great they can be. I

wanted to work hard and show people and myself what I am capable of. I have always known

that I wanted to be a teacher, it has taken some work over the years, but I am making great

progress into being who I knew I was always meant to be.

Education
Education has always had a big emphasis placed on me. It was always important to do

well in school, so that I can succeed in the future. I attended all my early years, up until

graduation, at Kimberly. I was proficient in school, averaging about 3.8 GPA through

graduation. I graduated in May of 2012 and was excited to take my education further.

After high school I attended College of Southern Idaho, where I majored in English. My

goal with this was to become a high school English teacher. I always knew I wanted to be a

teacher. I received my AA in English in May of 2015, but never pursued any further education

after that.

Five years later, after having two children, my perspective started to change. I decided to

go back to school to be an elementary teacher. Currently, I am in school again, and working

towards my education degree. I have hopes to be graduating in the winter of 2019. From there I

hope to attain a bachelor’s degree through ISU and fulfill my goal of becoming an elementary

education teacher.

Work History

Having the ability to work and gain experience is one of the best ways we can develop

our strength and abilities. I have worked a few different jobs as of late. Some of these jobs have

been tough, others have been pleasant, but I’m glad I’ve been able to do them all. I haven’t
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worked too many jobs that have been education related, but with each job, I have been able to

learn and grow myself.

My first job was in middle school, after school I would go to Betaseed. There, I would

work with bugs and we would run tests on how certain bugs affected plants. I enjoyed that job

for the most part. My next job was in high school, I worked at McDonalds. This job was the job

that had me convinced that everyone should work fast food, just so we can all understand what

goes on in the service industry. After McDonalds, I worked as a housekeeper in the hospital. I

worked particularly in the labor and delivery rooms and OB department. This job was tough for

me, not because it was physical demanding but a lot of the times, I was around little babies who

born with illness or grieving families, it was emotionally tough. I did get to be around happy

families as well. But I soon learned that this job was not for me.

During my first years in college I found a job that I absolutely loved, it was working as a

manager at a clothing store. I grew to love my boss, employees, and customers, this was a perfect

job for me. It was challenging, but so rewarding. I worked there for about three years before I

decided to have children, which ultimately lead to my resignation. Today, I work as a wedding

videographer as a side job, but I am a full-time mother and college student. I knew I was going to

go back to school sometime, because I haven’t forgotten that my goal is to be a teacher. I will

always be glad that I have been able to work so many different jobs and learn from them. But my

past work experiences have only confirmed my passion to be an educator one day.

Service and Extra Curricular

When it comes to service, simple acts for others are just as great as the big ones. When I

was in high school, I tried to be involved with service and extra-curricular activities as often as I

could. Whether it was helping peers, teachers, or the community I was always happy when I
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could do something outside of myself. Today, I still enjoy helping others, but most days I’ll be

inside serving my family and children.

In high school, the best way I found for me to do some service was joining key club. This

club was specifically designed to help others. We would look for issues in the community and a

group of us would go out and find ways to make it better, such as raking leaves for others or

picking up trash. I really enjoyed being a part of it. I also tutored peers in history, and it was fun

and challenging. I was also involved in the drama department and I would often help with sets

and sales for shows that we had going on. Being a part of the drama department was one of my

favorite things I ever did in high school, it gave me such an appreciation for the arts, that I still

hold strong to. In high school I was very grateful for the knowledge I gained through my extra

curriculars.

In college, the biggest extracurricular activity I was involved in was honors. It was a

great way to go into depth about my subjects I was learning. I was also able to experience

cultural events I wouldn’t have been able to without it. Honors was such an exciting experience

for me. During this time, I was also very involved in my church and became an activities director

for girls and teacher for 3 and 4-year-old boys and girls. I’ve never been more challenged with

these experiences, but I was so proud of the outcomes and the excitement I could see from the

kids. The first time around, my college years were a great transition for me, but I loved being

able to be involved in school and church.

Today, most of my extra curriculars revolve around my family. Most of my days are

spent getting my children to and from dance, the library, and everything else they have going on.

I enjoy it just as much as my other activities. I’m still involved in my church, but I’m currently

an 8-year-old teacher. Lessons don’t always go as planned, but I love that I am able to share
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thoughts and ideas with them. On the rare occasion that I can slip away from all that, I am also

able to volunteer at the local high school and participate in the events that they have going on. I

love being involved and helping others and the community when I can.

Why Teach?

There are only two things I’ve always told myself when I was younger, one was that I

was going to be a mother, and the other was that I wanted to be a teacher. Whenever I was asked

the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” The answer to that very rarely

stumped me. Although at times I may have considered other options, being a teacher was the

only career I could picture myself doing. The only question that has ever stumped me when it

came to profession, was what type of teacher I wanted to be.

Being a teacher is something that I feel so passionately about. I’ve had so many good

encounters with my own educators, and that has only fueled my drive to become one. I haven’t

had one specific moment where I thought this is what I want to do, it’s just something that has

always felt right to me. As I have grown more into working towards this occupation, I have

ultimately decided that becoming an educator is the best way for me to reach out and help others.

I will be able to continue learning through experiences alongside my students, and that just

seems like the perfect reward.

There is a saying that I love and as I continue my path towards being an educator I feel

like “I can be the person who I needed when I was little”. I want to be someone who people can

confide in and know that someone genuinely cares for their wellbeing. I want to help people to

see into the best versions of themselves and have confidence in their educational abilities. And

hopefully along the way, they can realize that there were those who sincerely cared for their

outcome. With all these things that I want, the only answer I can come up with, is to be to a
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teacher. The next generations need people who will actively guide them, and that is what I want

to do. I want to inspire students and have them take pride in their own education journey.

These are the reasons I want to be a teacher. Therefore, I will work hard to be the best

educator I know I can be. It won’t always be what I expected, and it will be hard and thankless at

times, but I want to do this because I know it’s the right path for me. I don’t have any anticipated

rewards, but I know the rewards will be in the students themselves. There is nothing I’ve felt

more excited and anxious about, and that is why I must teach.

Goals

I have a few goals I would like to accomplish as I work on becoming an educator. I think

my overall goal as I go throughout this journey, is to just better myself. I want to push myself to

show that I can accomplish what I set my mind to. I want to prove that I am capable and willing

to put myself out there and try my best every day. I will work hard to be an educator because I

believe it is the best way I can be the best version of myself.

As I work on becoming an educator, I know it will take time and effort. I have a few

short-term goals I would like to see myself complete. One of them is to gain a real understanding

for the profession and all that it really entails. I would also like to see other teachers and observe

their philosophies in actions. I have already started working on a few of these goals and I’m

finding myself really pleased with what I’ve been able to find out.

When it comes to long term goals, I’m realizing that these will be a continuous work in

progress. I would like to continue pursuing new skills that will benefit my teaching experience. I

also plan on striving to further my own personal education. I want myself to work towards those

great opportunities education has to offer. In the end, I want to be genuinely happy with all the

hard work and dedication I’ve put towards being an educator.

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Goals are a good thing to have to keep a person motivated. I think it’s important to have

long and short-term goals in place, so we can have something to work towards. When I am an

educator, I would love to see the impact I can leave on my students, by working on goals with

them. I want them to work on their best versions of themselves as I continue to work on mine.

Conclusion

I never doubted that this journey would be hard work. At times I found myself asking if I

can really be who I want to be, but every time, I’ve always been able to answer yes. When I have

my doubts, I am always redirected to knowing the positives of becoming a teacher greatly

outweigh the negatives. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far, and I know I am on my

way to becoming a teacher; a proud, happy, and hopeful teacher.