Emily Kelly

I grew up the youngest of six energetic and eager children, raised by my mother and father. I
looked up to my siblings who helped take care of me. My character is a composite of all seven
family members whom I shared a house with. From them, I learned empathy, compassion,
generosity, kindness, love, dedication, and humility. My first memories are of playing school
with my dolls, pretending to be my mother who taught part-time. I loved to transmit all my
knowledge to my dolls, so that they could be smart too. Instinctively, I knew that every child had
the capacity and desire to learn, but, it weighed heavy on me that not every child had that
opportunity. I knew this because I loved writing letters to the less fortunate children who my
parents sponsored. It was at this young age, while playing school with my dolls, that I knew I
wanted to fight the injustice of inequality.

Through middle school, I was eager to learn. I excelled in my studies and enjoyed that teachers
trusted me to help my struggling peers. I became involved with every sport team that my school
had to offer. Because of my inclusiveness, work ethic, and charisma, coaches relied on me to be a
leader. My parents taught myself and my siblings the importance of holding ourselves to a higher
standard than others. We were to be a role model, and to always perform the best we could,
whether in the classroom or on the court.

I used high school as a time to prepare for my higher education. I worked with students who
were cognitively and developmentally disabled, and though I rejoiced in their joy, I did not feel
fulfilled. I tutored students from younger grades who struggled academically, and though I
enjoyed this responsibility, I still did not feel fulfilled. I left high school still convinced of my
calling to teach the young and vulnerable, but in what capacity? It was while studying
psychology at Crandall University that my future started to take shape. Because I am keen to
learn, students would come to me with curriculum questions and assignment how-tos. It is
critical for a teacher not just to understand content but to transmit the information in a way that
others understand. My combination of interpersonal and critical thinking skills allows for me to
transmit my knowledge to others successfully. Teachers took notice and praised me for my good
work ethic and grades in class.

It was also during this time that I finally learned what made me feel completely fulfilled. I
decided in 2015 that I would teach the vulnerable in a way that I had only ever dreamed of. So,
in 2016, my sister and I moved to Africa for four and a half months to teach voluntarily in a
primary school, a college, and an orphanage. I found my lifes purpose and passion. My heart,
just as it did as a child, goes out to the children who are born without the opportunities that I was.

Teaching in Liwonde, a Malawian village so small it cannot even be found on a map, was the
largest learning experience of my life. My students ate paper to fill their bellies and chewed
pencils enough so they were suitable to write with. Teachers taught because it was a job, but they
were not passionate about the children. The children had nothing more to look forward to at
school than they did at home. For two months, I took over the first-grade classroom and worked
hard to change their education. I learned about my students interests and backgrounds, and
taught to their different intelligences. My very first real teaching success was with a special boy
named Ephram. As one of my most vulnerable first-grade students, he would avoid all questions
and eye contact. He never participated in class and always sat alone. At break time, he would
remain by himself, watching other students eating their snacks. I would bring biscuits to school,
and would ask him to repeat the word biscuit. For many days, he said nothing, looked away
from me, and took the biscuit from my hand. One day, I asked him in class, Ephram what is
your favorite thing to eat? to which he replied, biscuit. It was the first time he had ever
participated in class, and the first time I had ever heard his little voice. I continued to work with
him, and soon he would greet me at the door, saying may I have a biscuit please. I have never
seen a childs demeanour change so much in so little time. Because food was so scarce, and thus
biscuits so significant to him, I taught him letters by having him spell biscuit and numbers by
counting how many biscuits he had. I taught him art by having him draw his favorite toy, a bottle
cap, that he was never seen without. Every child can learn and succeed, but they all do this
differently. I learned that a teacher must be persistently patient, constantly caring, and unfailingly
dedicated. But most of all, I discovered that a teacher must be passionate. On its own, passion
will not necessarily make a good teacher. But combined with dedication, empathy, charisma,
enthusiasm, and humility, it can make a great teacher.

To help students to reach their full potential, a teacher must be passionate enough to put in the
extra effort to do this. It was hard to lesson plan with 25 students in mind, to makeshift materials
for manipulatives, to progress through a language barrier, and to attend to all of the childrens
various needs. I was encouraged by the parents of some of my students, who told me that their
children had learned more in my two months than they had in the past two years of school.
Others said that their children had never enjoyed going to school so much nor had they gone
home smiling so much than they had those two months.

My current plans are to return to Africa for one year upon completion of my Education degree at
Crandall University. My hope is to teach in a village similar to the one where I taught my first-
grade class. Once I finish my year in Africa, I will return home to decide where I will continue
my teaching career. I plan to further my education with a masters degree which will offer to me
new opportunities, hopefully in some developmental context. It excites me to think of how much
more there is to learn both in shaping myself individually and as a professional.