Ms. Rebecca Camden by Jainy

Ms. Rebecca Camden by Jainy - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

I guess you could say "smarts" always ran in my family, and I, always being the odd one out, never notice any actual potential in my academics. Although I have always enjoyed school, it was not always my strong suit. I knew the importance of having an education and I knew there was no way getting out of it.

My fourth grade teacher, Rebecca Camden, was the first person to make me realize I had true potential. She always pushed me to appreciate education, and for a fourth grade teacher to have that effect on ten year old kids was an accomplishment, a massive accomplishment actually. Toward the end of the year she had a talk with me about pursing a higher level of education, she asked me if I would want to go into the gifted program.

I did not even know what that was at the time, much less know what opportunities it would bring me. The next couple of weeks were one of the biggest drags of my educational career. No one thought I was up for the challenge. I had not prepared myself the honors classes nor had I been taught any of the curriculum. The school did not want to pay money for a wasted test but Mrs. Camden was the most persistent woman I had ever met. She went to the office about twice a day and demanded to have me tested. Eventually they got tired of her and agreed to it.

The very next day I took test after test, they gave me vocabulary tests, math tests, science tests and everything in between, including an IQ test. The wait was a pain and all my teacher could do was assure me that I would pass.

It took two weeks to have my test scores in and I passed. My teacher walked straight into the office and showed everyone my scores. She was so proud of me and I had never realized what I was actually capable of. Not until after I received my test scores was when Mrs. Camden had explained the whole gifted program. She told me how we would not go to the same field trips and programs as everyone else. She told me “this has always been your choice Jainy and as a ten year old I’m expecting you to turn it down but always know this, education is the key to success.”

I decided I would join the honors program and it was the biggest pain but I did not regret it one bit. I could never repay Mrs. Camden for what she did for me nor can I express the vast amount of gratitude I have toward that woman because she honestly changed my life. She showed me that I can do anything and everything I set my mind to, and as cheesy as that sounds I will never forget what she told me. She has become one of my greatest idols and to this day I keep her updated on my educational career. On my worst days I remember my persistent fourth grade teacher that saw nothing but greatness for my future.