How I can make a change. by Mackinzie

How I can make a change. by Mackinzie - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

My name is Mackinzie Cornwell and I am in the graduating class of 2021 at Sprague High School. My career goal is to be a Special Education Teacher. In order to reach this goal I will need at least a bachelors, then I must take the civil rights exam. This scholarship will help me tremendously by allowing me to have some financial relief and not entering the ‘real world’ as my mom would call it with an overwhelming amount of debt.
I chose to be a teacher when I was entering my freshman year of high school. Although, subconsciously I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. Every time someone in my family asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I always answered “I want to be a teacher.” Many people in my family recommended I take a different path but I finally started to push back. I told them teaching is the only thing I could see myself doing long term and actually waking up everyday loving my job. When people think about teachers no one ever seems to think about a special education teacher. My degree will allow me to not only teach Special Education (for K-12) but I can also teach any other position in K-12. I chose a special education teacher because I feel those kids are always forgotten and under valued. No one ever seems to think about going the extra mile to learn to understand them and learn how to help them learn like every other kid in their school does.
I know I can make a change in this career field. When I was younger I went to a take your child to work day with my aunt. My aunt worked for the special education department and I was so excited to be able to go. I noticed as I was walking around with these kids people were judging and whispering things as we would walk by. When something like this happens I am not one to stay quiet, I asked them if there was something in particular I could help them with or a question I could ask. Most people walked away with a red face but one woman approached me and said something I will never forget. This woman's name was Angie, she very shakily walked up to me and said "Young lady I think what you're doing is amazing. Most people wouldn't have chosen to come here today. Most of our students walk away from these kids instead of taking the time to understand them." This sentence right here broke my heart. These kids are no different from any other kid in their school. I can make a change by making sure these kids feel as equals and feel valued.
To conclude, I know I can make a change. It doesn't need to start one person at a time, it doesn't need to start one child at a time, it needs to start with everybody. Helping people understand that these kids are no different from any other the others, they just need a little more help.