Inspired to Teach

The road to teaching hasn’t been a straight path for me, but I believe God has been guiding me here all along. When I graduated from high school in 2022, I set out to become a pediatric oncology nurse. I’ve always had a heart for serving others, especially children, in their most vulnerable moments. But as I moved through the nursing program, I realized that my heart wasn’t fully in it. I loved bringing joy to others, but deep down, I knew I was chasing money more than purpose. That realization was hard, but it became a turning point. It forced me to ask the question: What has God truly called me to do?

Teaching kept coming back to me. My mom spent nearly thirty years in education as a speech therapist, and the stories she brought home impacted me more than I could have imagined. Some were heartbreaking, children who faced struggles at home and found school to be their only safe place. That was devastating to me, but it also changed something inside of me. I felt called to be the kind of teacher who not only teaches history and government, but also becomes a steady presence: someone students can lean on, confide in, and look to for encouragement.

I know high school students can be a challenge, but I also believe those four years are some of the most pivotal in shaping a person’s life. It’s the time when they begin to imagine who they want to be, how they want to live, and what kind of mark they want to leave on the world. I want to help push them, inspire them, and remind them that their worth isn’t defined by money, status, or the expectations of others. Like my own high school mentors did for me, I want to teach my students to “live big,” and to see education not just as a means to an end, but to use it to create a life that glorifies God and serves others.