An Interview with the JAM Paper Scholarship Winner

Check out our interview with our Anna:

Share with us a little bit about your background:  I come from a family of educators. Growing up, people always asked me if I was going to be an educator like the rest of my family. I always said no; I wanted to do something different. But education is the recurring thread throughout my life that I continue to return to. My life has been shaped by incredible teachers who invested in me. I saw the hard work that my mom put into her job as an educator, but also the tremendous impact that she had on her students. I ended up doing a 6 month internship in the Philippines where I taught English. I realized while I was there that my passion and my talent is empowering students. Now, when people ask me if I am happy to be an educator like the rest of my family, I give an emphatic, "Yes!" Where do you attend school? I'm getting my Master's at Dominican University; I will be teaching at Urban Prep Charter Academy in the Fall. What are your future goals as a teacher? I want to create opportunities for my students to be empowered by their own words and writing. I envision creating literary magazines or poetry readings where students have the opportunity to share their own work and hear their peers' work as well. I don't think there's anything more powerful than a student realizing his or her own potential, the potential that you have seen in them all along. What are you majoring in? Master of Arts in Teaching (Secondary ELA) Your favorite school supply product? Black pens. I am obsessed with pens! What is the most exciting thing about going into teaching? Working with students! I love nothing more than learning from my students. Do you have a favorite teacher?  My favorite teacher was (and still is) my 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Stripling. In 8th grade, I wrote a 42-page story--it takes a gracious teacher to let a student turn in a story that lengthy. That's exactly the kind of teacher that she was, though, the kind who always wanted to encourage and empower students, no matter what the cost. I still think back to some of the conversations I've had with Mrs. Stripling and some of the moments from her classroom; her influence on me has been pivotal. I hope that one day I can be a teacher as influential as Mrs. Stripling.

Good luck Anna! - The JAM Team