The Importance of Influencing Kids by Kelly

The Importance of Influencing Kids by Kelly - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

Tutoring during my junior year of high school made a deeper impact on me than I expected going into it. I begun tutoring once a week for A+ hours towards college. This was long before I had a clue about what I wanted to do with my future. I was paired up with a fourth grader who was really sweet and wanted to mess around rather than do homework after school. That's how I knew she was really comfortable with me. The kids who came to tutoring after school didn't seem to get much help from family members, so seeing Nia, the fourth grader, joke around and get work done at the same time made me realize maybe I could impact this kid for good. I enjoyed helping her divide and multiply on her math homework. Plus, it was almost bittersweet thinking how I used to race the clock during those one-minute timed math sheets back in the day. Helping Nia do her homework also made me think twice about helping my younger siblings get on track with their school work. I'm the oldest of four and I never thought twice about helping my siblings get their work done before my parents got home in the evening, who were normally tired from work and focused on getting dinner fixed. Now I try my best to read before bedtime with my younger sister.
After school, I work at a gymnastics center where I teach children basic gymnastics skills. I never fell in love with gymnastics, though. I tried it for about a year when I was younger, but when my bank became negative and my sister begun taking classes there, I decided to take my first steps at getting an after school job. I trained and trained until I was able to teach by myself. I've worked my first job at Olympia Rock Hill for almost two years now, and my next steps are towards becoming an elementary teacher.
Teachers influence our generation now, and will influence our future generations. I believe I can use my potential to impact our children's lives, and our children's children, and so on. If one child has an awful home life, and coming to school to see their favorite teacher encourage them and uplift them, then I hope to be that person.