AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 1

Autobiographical Essay

Avalos, Chayse

Instructor: Dr. Egbert

EDUC 290
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Autobiographical Essay

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question that young teens get asked

repeatedly growing up. Fortunately for me, my answer was always the same in that I wanted to

be an elementary school teacher. Not only did I believe and see myself as an elementary school

teacher, but so did my friends and family because of the personality I have, the goals I have set

in life, the love that I have for children, and the love that I have for education. With that being

said, never once have I had second thoughts or doubts on becoming a teacher because I know

that it’s exactly who I’m supposed to be. Through summarizing my education, professional

background and experiences I want to establish and express a profile of myself as an individual

and as a future educator.

Educational Background

My education career started when I was 4 going to preschool at Immanuel Lutheran in

Twin Falls, ID. Then, I attended elementary school at Morningside Elementary School where I

was known as a Mustang (horse) as that was the mascot of the school. My classmates and I

were one of the first generations to attend middle school instead of attending a Jr. High. I

attended O’Leary Middle School where I was known as a cub. Becoming a ninth grader, I

attended Twin Falls High School where I was known as a Bruin and graduated in 2017. After

graduating high school, I received a soccer scholarship to go play at Spokane Community

College in Spokane, WA for two years while receiving an education. Once I graduated in June of

2019 with my AA in General Studies, I moved back home to Twin Falls, ID to attend the College

of Southern Idaho (CSI). I am currently in my second semester at CSI finishing up one more class

while also attending ISU in their Elementary Education program. I will graduate in the Spring of
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2020 with my AA in Elementary Education, and will graduate in the Spring of 2022 with my BA

in Elementary Education. Right now, while being enrolled at ISU, I am taking one special

education class which is, also, providing me with my first special education experience in a

public school.

My education has contributed to my development as a professional educator for a

couple of reasons. One reason being that I have always been a great student; I graduated high

school with a 3.7 GPA, graduated Spokane Community College with a 3.7 GPA, and ended my

first semester at CSI with a 4.0 GPA. This concludes that I show up to class, get assignments

done, perform well on tests, and put in the hard-work to receive good grades, which also grants

me with the knowledge and skills to help me succeed as a professional educator. Through my

educational background I have learned that I want to be that teacher that my students

remember due to the positive impact I made on their lives. This will help me in the future and

has helped me as I’ve gone through college because there are plenty of teachers out there who

really shouldn’t be teachers, and I always want my students to know and feel how happy I am

to be a teacher. I will take the necessary steps in the future, once I am a teacher, such as:

learning about each one of my students, letting them know how cared for and special they are,

treating them as if they were my own, and believing and pushing them to be the best that they

can possibly be. This is important because students will succeed and achieve their goals if they

have teachers who want them to succeed and push them to succeed and reach their goals.

Another thing I have learned is that I absolutely enjoy going to school and feel thankful to

receive an education. This will help in the future once I’m a teacher because I can spread that

love for education for my students in hopes that they will enjoy it, as well. I will, also, express to
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my students how thankful they should be to be receiving an education because not only will

they become successful in life, but they will also meet some of their best friends and will make

some of the best memories throughout their school years. This is important because my

students will be able to read and feel my energy, so I want them to know that I love/loved going

to school and I will put my best into teaching, which will hopefully encourage them to give me

their best so that they can enjoy their education, too.

Work History

Throughout my lifetime, I have only had 3 jobs. I got my first job in the summer of 2015

at a sno-cone shack called “Snoasis Shaved Ice”. I worked there for about 3 years, which

consisted of me taking orders, making the sno-cones, working with money, and cleaning the

shack. The second job I had was only a month job where I helped my dad’s store here in Twin

Falls, ID during Christmas season at the clothing store known as “The Buckle”. While I was

there, I helped in the back with inventory, organizing the shoes, and cleaning the backroom.

However, now I am currently working at TitleOne here in Twin Falls, ID as a part-time Office

Administrator (OA). As an OA I answer the phone, greet customers, make coffees, schedule

appointments, clean closing rooms, take people’s payments, and make copies for the Escrow

Officers.

My work experiences have contributed to my development as a professional educator

because I’ve learned how to respectfully and appropriately talk to others, how to use a copier

machine, and how to handle situations that involve angry customers. Learning how to

respectfully and appropriately talk to others is very beneficial for any profession and will help

me in the future because I will be able to express my thoughts, ideas and opinions in a
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respectful manner. Learning how to talk with others respectfully will, also, help me in the future

with knowing how to listen to others and to not take offense so easily. This is important

because as I mingle with other teachers, I may not use the same strategies or lesson plans as

them, but I will still be able to have a respectful conversation with them and explain my ideas in

an appropriate manner. This is, also, important when talking to parents because it’s important

to hear the parents out and listen to them, and to also respond in a respectful manner to where

the parents feel like they can trust you and respect you. Knowing how to use a copier machine

will help me in the future because learning how to use one won’t take away my time with my

students or take away my preparation time for class. This is important because most of my time

should be spent on my students and their education, and not on trying to learn how to use a

copier machine. Lastly, knowing how to handle hard situations that involve angry people will

help in the future because I will know to not get heated, to listen to the angry person’s wishes

and concerns, feel comfortable asking others for help, and will ask how I can help the situation

and try to meet them in the middle. This is important because having angry parents can

sometimes occur and it’s important for me as the teacher to not get heated and yell, but to

hear the parent out, ask the principal for help, and to see what changes can be made to calm

them down. This will help the parent feel like they are being listened to, their child is being

cared about, and that I, as the teacher, want to do anything to help.

Service and/or Extracurricular Activities

Throughout my lifetime a big extracurricular activity I was a part of for 14 years was

playing soccer. I first started out in my younger years playing rec soccer, but then joined a

competitive soccer club in middle school while also playing competitively for both the middle
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school and high school teams. During those years I earned many first-place trophies and

medals, was the captain for a majority of those 14 years including my senior year of high

school, attended many regional tournaments, and made many state appearances with one year

being shy of first place and taking second. I never really had time for anything other than school

and soccer, but if I did get some free time, I’d volunteer to ref soccer games for the younger age

groups and would also volunteer to help out at soccer camps/programs.

These extracurricular activities have contributed to my development as a professional

educator because I know how to work together as a team, how to be a leader, and how to

manage time. Teamwork will help me in the future because as a teacher, there are three main

people who must work together in order for the student to be successful. Those three people

are the teacher, the parents/guardian, and the student. This is important because in order for

the student to achieve and do well in class, all three people must be on the same page,

understand and know the goals, and communicate/work well together. Knowing how to be a

leader will help me in the future because the students need to know that I am in charge and

that they need to listen to me. This is important because as a teacher I don’t want the students

to take advantage of me, or for the classroom to feel like there is no sense of control. There

needs to be rules and policies to follow, and it will take the teacher as the leader to enforce

those rules and policies. Time management will help in the future as a professional educator

because it will help keep my students on task, help keep me on task, give quality time to myself

and my family, and quality time to my student’s, as well. Time management is important

because I still need to do the things that make me happy outside of school in order to come to

class every day and feel good. My family needs to know that I love them and care about them,
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so I need to be giving them time out of my day, as well. Lastly, I need to give myself enough

time to prepare for class every day, so that my students are able to come to class and learn

while knowing that I have taken time to prepare and plan ahead of time.

Reasons for Choosing Education as a Career

For as long as I can remember, I’ve known that I’ve wanted to be a teacher. For a while I

didn’t know what particular grade or school level, but as I got more experience in the

elementary school level, I decided elementary was where I was meant to be. I decided I wanted

to be an elementary school teacher because I loved elementary school, I loved all of my

elementary school teachers, I love children, I love to learn, I’ve always had a desire to leave a

positive impact on people’s lives, and have always wanted to have a career that would help

make a difference in this world.

There was a time where I got discouraged in becoming an elementary school teacher

because so many people had commented on the pay. So, at one point, I did consider going to

dental school to become a dental hygienist, but as I thought about it more, I realized that I

would rather have a job that I absolutely enjoy going to every day instead of being miserable

and hating my job. Pay is no longer a concern or worry because what matters most to me is that

I will be doing what I love every single day, and that there are plenty of teachers out there who

make it just fine, no matter the pay. A few rewards that I anticipate is building that relationship

with not only the students, but the parents as well, witnessing the learning process first hand,

and the recognition and appreciation of being a part of my student’s success stories.

Professional Goals
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My long-term goals consist of me being an elementary teacher here in Twin Falls, ID

once I graduate with my BA degree. However, while being a teacher, I want to also get my

Master’s in Elementary Education. Personally, I also hope to get married and have a family of

my own. I intend to achieve these goals by observing, spending field hours, and possibly

substituting at schools in Twin Falls as much as possible, so that principals and current teachers

can get to know my name and become familiar with my face. I also intend to receive my BA

with the best GPA I can possibly get, so that I can get scholarships to help pay for my Master’s

degree. I intend to become an elementary teacher here in Twin Falls by applying for every job

position at an elementary school that I am qualified for, so that I am not limiting my options

and getting my name around town. The steps I will take to reach my long term goal is to

continue to work hard throughout the rest of my years in college, spend as much time as I can

in elementary schools in Twin while introducing myself to as many staff members as possible to

get my name out there, and to apply for teacher-job openings at any elementary schools as I

possibly can.

My short-term goals include graduating this Spring of 2020 with my AA in Elementary

Education, receiving scholarships for the next school year 2020-2021 at ISU, and keep my part-

time job at TitleOne. I intend to reach these goals by staying determined, motivated, on top of

assignments and homework, fulfilling my hours at the schools while also fulfilling my part-time

hours at TitleOne, and by not giving up. The steps I will take to reach my short term goals is to

pass the last class at CSI in order to receive my AA, keep applying to as many scholarships as I

can and qualify for, and to manage my time wisely by planning out the days and hours I work

and the days and hours I will be visiting the schools.

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Ultimately, I am so excited to become an elementary teacher and I know that this is

exactly who I am supposed to be. Through my educational background, work history, and

extracurricular activities I have been provided with such beneficial experience and useful

information that has helped develop me into the future professional educator I am capable of

being someday. I have never given up on my decision on becoming a teacher and with my hard

work, dedication, motivation, and perseverance nothing can stand in my way or prevent me

from becoming exactly who I am meant to be.