When I received my Kenan Fellows acceptance letter in the mail I was ecstatic! The Kenan Follows Program has been an interest of mine since I spoke with a fellow teacher who started the program last summer. I decided to apply because I am constantly striving to learn more about my profession and I knew that the fellowship is full of amazing opportunities. I am excited to have the opportunity to intern with Hyster Yale, attend professional developments, present to my peers, and to dig deeper into the STEM curriculum! I am most excited about what I will learn from the program and what I can bring back to my students and my school.
I’m hoping that through the fellowship experience I will strengthen my own personal skills and become a better teacher and leader in my school and community. I recently completed my second year of teaching so I definitely have a lot more to learn! This week at NCCAT has been extremely beneficial. I feel like I’ve been introduced to so much this week… and this is only the beginning! One of my main goals for my fellowship experience is to become more of a teacher leader. This past year I had the opportunity to present a professional development session to my county. It was a very nerve-racking experience because naturally I’m very nervous speaking in front of peers. I’m hoping that this fellowship experience will help me become a more open by allowing me the opportunity to present to others locally and throughout the state.
If I am growing and learning as a teacher then I know that my students are learning and growing as well. I hope that during the Kenan fellowship I will be able to constantly bring back materials, ideas, and activities to my classroom so that my students can also benefit from what I’m learning. What I learn during my fellowship will not only benefit my STEM students, but also those students who are in my regular mathematics classes. I hope that I can inspire all students to find something about math that they enjoy. I would also love for them to see how math is related to the world around them by sharing experiences from my internship. I am so honored to be a Kenan Fellow this year. I cannot wait to get started!