Life-Long Impression by Yasmeanne

Life-Long Impression by Yasmeanne - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

As a child growing up there was never a teacher who I felt was interested in my future. I grew up going to a very small school of about 115 students ranging from grades K5-12th grade. There was about 10 teachers in that school so I was constantly seeing the same teacher year after year. I felt as though the teachers at that school were there just to make sure we didn’t act up and did enough work to pass to the next grade. That all changed when I was in the 9th grade when a new teacher, Ms. Walker, joined the school.

As a minority at that school, I and very few other students stood out in a school that was dominated by Caucasians. Not only that but I never had a teacher who looked like me. It was a breath of fresh air when I saw that Ms. Walker looked like me. Ms. Walker ended up being my guardian angel when it came to the future of my education. Since the school didn’t have a guidance counselor a lot of students weren’t motivated for college or lacked the information that a guidance counselor provided. At the time I was making mostly B’s and she stayed on me to the point that I was mostly getting A's. She constantly reminded me that I needed to keep up my grades for future colleges. She provided me with a lot of information about the SATs and how the process of applying o colleges work. She even took a group of us to visit Liberty University. It was the first time that a teacher from our school ever did something like that. Not only did she make sure my grades went up but she also made sure I was involved in other activities. I ended up joining the basketball team again because of her.

Even though she was only there at that school for a year she really motivated me to be aware that my education doesn’t have to stop at high school. We even kept in touch throughout my high school years. I ended up volunteering because it was a suggestion she made. I remember her telling that it would look good on my college application. I even remember that she was one of the first people I told when I received my college acceptances. Once I started college at George Mason University we lost contact.

If I could see her today I would tell her she is an intelligent woman who changed my life. She was strict but at the same time she was caring and helpful. That balance let students know that she wouldn’t take no less than 100 percent from them but at the same time they knew they could come to her because she was easy to talk to. Despite only staying at our school for a year she really made along-lasting impression in my life. Therefore, Ms. Walker will forever be my favorite teacher.