Sandy Jenkins Excellence in Early Childhood Education Scholarship

Hi, First, I would like to say thank you for this opportunity! I have been searching for scholarships with education and found the perfect one. My name is Jessica Gaines. I am 34 years old and currently reside in Clay County, Alabama. I am originally from Carrollton, Georgia. I am now a Post University student pursuing my associate degree, Early childhood education. As a young child, my passion has always been to work with young children. I am grateful that I finally decided to further my education and follow my dreams. I am married and a mother to three beautiful children, ages 15, 13, and 9. My husband and children are my biggest inspiration. I am the youngest of five siblings. I am also the first to graduate high school and attend college. I grew up in a home where drugs and violence happened daily. My parents would fuss and fight every day. They did not have an education and could never help me with my education. However, I never allowed anything to define or stop me from accomplishing my goals. As a young child, I was also passionate about learning. I would play school and be the teacher. I would have to beg my siblings/cousins to play along. If I were not playing pretend school, I would read or watch educational videos. I wanted to be successful and thought about my future daily. When no one in your family values education, you will not have the support. I was not encouraged throughout my elementary or high school years. However, I knew I wanted to follow my dreams and get my degree in Early childhood education. My motivation is my children; I want them to know to never give up on their dreams. All of my siblings dropped out of school when they were 16. I was heartbroken because my parents did not encourage them or me to continue our education. It hurts to know that they did not care about our future. When I was about 12 or 13, I often asked neighbors if they needed babysitters for their young children. I did not want to get paid because I loved it so much. People would offer me money, but I would not accept it. I just enjoyed playing with the children, reading, and stimulating their curiosity. Education means everything, and it starts in an early childhood setting. Being part of a child's growth and development is fantastic! A child's early years are the foundation for their future growth and development. We are the ones who prepare them for specific life skills, and it is such an honor to help young children learn. We must nurture and care for children and be in it for them. I know working with children is my passion. I have worked other jobs and always knew where I wanted to be. It took me a while because I doubted myself. However, I got the courage to start my college journey, and I do not regret it. The qualities I think anyone needs to possess to work or be a great teacher in early childhood education are patience, love for children, compassion, creativity, and empathy. Children are curious and love to explore and discover new things. I want to inspire children and help them reach their full potential. Winning this scholarship will be an honor! Thanks

"Why am I passionate about early childhood education" is a very easy question for me to answer. I have always adored children and wanted to pour into their lives. I strongly believe that I can play a huge role in children's lives with my career of education. I love to see people grow into the person that God created them to be, and having the opportunity of being a planter in their seed excites me. I am a firm believer that everyone on this Earth was created for a purpose, I have never been more sure that God created me to shine my light and be a planter to young children. A lot of kids come to school everyday with a new struggle from home. I want to be that safe place where they know they can come to me and I will always help. Throughout my search of a career, I was unsure if becoming a teacher was what I wanted to do. I have been in and out of DHR cases since I was in the second grade, so I thought I was created to help children get out of the same things I went through. With that thought, I wanted to become a social worker. However, my dream has always been to become a teacher. I began thinking and I soon realized that I could help children in more ways imaginable if I was their teacher. They could lean on me and confide in my for help. That is my main goal.

From the time I was a child, I knew that teaching was what I wanted to do as a career. I can vividly remember using my younger sister as well as any stuffed animals I could find, and making use of furniture around the house to create an atmosphere that resembled a classroom. Growing up, I realized this project provided me with a great opportunity to express my creativity. I look at teaching as a way to serve the community. It is both an outlet for creativity and a chance to impact the lives of future successors. I strive to understand the mind of a child in order to develop techniques that are effective for each child in my practice. I hope to introduce new concepts and provide strategies to help students understand these concepts better. The most effective teachers inspire students to work hard and push themselves, and I hope my work, time, and effort will make a significant contribution to a child's success. It is the youth who form the backbone of a community. They are dreamers possessing incredible potential that will be turned into accomplishments. Providing them with constructive motivation and a shoulder to lean on can give them both hope and brighten their future outlook. As a future educator, my goal is to provide students of the future with a stable resource. This resource will be one that they can turn to when they need help not only in terms of their academics. Whether it’s personal or school-related, I want my students to know that I am always present and available. Passion can be defined as a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement regarding a particular subject or subject matter. Passion is said to be the basis of effective teaching. A strong sense of passion ignites within me when I think about the possibility of inspiring students and creating opportunities that can change their lives. It is teachers who shape society's future leaders to build positive future generations. A teacher's commitment and dedication to students and their learning are important elements in developing a passion for teaching. I am hoping that my passion for my work will inspire and awaken the learning desire in students. With their incredible potential, youth seem to be crucial to shaping the future. The passion for teaching that I have, stems from my goal of encouraging students to achieve their life objectives, transfer their talents, and achieve their full potential throughout my career.

Passion is a strong liking or desire for something. It took me stepping away from what I loved to do, to find out that it was my passion. I have been working in the childcare field for 20-plus years. I have always loved working with children! I grew up around a house full of educators and knew that I would work with children one day. I begin my early childhood education journey in 2001 when I applied for a teaching position at a childcare center. After two years, I was promoted to Team Lead which is a management position. After 3 years in that position, I was promoted to Assistant Director. I worked hard to be promoted and I loved what I was doing! In 2015 I lost my father, and shortly after that, I lost my mother. I was overwhelmed with grief and wasn't able to be my best self. The childcare center that I was working at had a District Manager that was difficult along with everything else that I was going through. I thought it was best if I begin looking for another job. After 18 years of working at the childcare center, I left to go and work for the Department of Social Services. I was working in a cubicle and answering the phone. This job was so different from what I was used to. I didn't get to see smiling faces or hear children calling my name, and most of all I didn't enjoy waking up every day and going to my job. I was depressed and begin to lose weight. I worked there for a year and a half! After a year and a half, my previous boss reached out to me to see how I was doing. I explained to her how miserable I had been and how I missed working in childcare. She let me know that some of my old parents had been asking about me. Not only did my parents miss me, but the kids! She also let me know that my old District Manager had been let go. I felt like this was a sign! A week after my previous boss reached out to me, she let me know that an Assistant Director position would be opening up in three weeks! I knew what I had to do, I had to apply for the position as soon as possible! I applied for the position and I got the job! I was so happy to be back where I belonged! I knew my parents were smiling down on me! Not only did I get the job, but after a year I was promoted to Center Director! That is my current position and I love it! Due to my promotion, I have to obtain my Bachelor's Degree to be the best me, but it is also a goal of mine. This scholarship would help me continue to do what I love and what I have a passion for!

At the age of fourteen, I had to make a difficult decision for my family’s s benefit. I didn’t have a car or any experience of working in the real world, however, I was able to attain a position as a teacher’s assistant in a daycare next door to my house. To be completely honest, I never pictured myself as an educator, much less as one who would work along side of infants, toddlers, and pre schoolers. When I began to work in the daycare, it was only a care center. It wasn’t until my boss applied to the Rising Star Programs that we became a Learning Center. I was the only bilingual teacher in the learning center, this was very beneficial, not only to the other teachers, but to the students too. I didn’t realize it, but to many, I was already being a teacher by using both of the languages I know. When working with the students, I always made sure to say my sentences in both English and Spanish. I learned that it is best to implement this skill into the students life while they are still in the early ages of 0-11. It was fun to sing songs in both languages, not only because they were having fun, but I could hear their pronunciations improving as well as observing them utilizing the languages in their day to day conversations. COVID-19 struck in the year 2020, I had just turned 18, this meant I could finally have a classroom of my own. I was used to teaching a small portion of what is considered Early Childhood Education, I never really had a chance to work with the older students. With the chaos that 2020 brought, I had to learn how to manage a classroom of 23 students, all of them belonging to different grade levels. Most understood both English and Spanish, making it easier for me to communicate with them. I was a classroom tutor, if they did not understand lessons, assignments, or homework, I was there to help. I got the opportunity to work along side many teachers from Early Childhood Education. They guided and monitored my ways of teaching, and helped me with constructive criticism. I understood the realities of working in this career, and learned to be patient and accepting of the role I would be playing for my students. In 2021, I decided to explore more within the Early Education system. I moved to Houston and applied as a Bilingual RTI Paraprofessional at an elementary in the district ALDINE ISD. I made the choice to select this district to teach in a diverse environment. I taught students of all kinds of ethnicities, backgrounds, and with different stories. The students always looked excited when I picked them up from their classrooms. I was told I was a fun teacher for them, and made it easier for them to understand what they were struggling with. This painted a picture way beyond my expectations as to what teaching really is. Being a teacher is a job and a role that is unappreciated and unvalued by outsiders. I used to be one of those people that believed teaching was a piece of cake, I was completely wrong. Through the experiences I was given, I learned that teaching makes a difference. You don't just have to be a teacher, you can be their creative liberation, their friend, and even the person they trust the most. This is the passion that comes with teaching, knowing you can be so much more that what you believed you could be.

I have worked with children since my senior year if high school, 2011. It’s then that I realized being in the teaching field was my passion. After high school I studied elementary education but after working in an early headstart program I quickly realized that early childhood was more suiting. I began studying for my associates of applied science degree in early childhood. While continuing to work and go to school I received my degree. I was so happy I never thought I’d go to college let alone obtain a degree. Not long after working at the headstart I decided to start working as a behavior interventionist at a local elementary, primarily in the preschool classroom. I began to realize that through the many trainings I’ve gone through I’ve never quite gotten the knowledge I wanted for my job. As an interventionist I work with children who have special needs and a lot of the trainings I had were more directed towards children who don’t struggle with learning. With that in mind I decided I’m going back to school. In August 2022 I will be attending LCSC to obtain a bachelors degree in general education for early childhood education with a minor in special education for early childhood education. Pursuing this degree I hope to find the answers I need to make me the best advocate and interventionist for the children I work with. I need to know the best tools to help these children succeed. Often times the curriculum lacks these tools for special needs children. Too many times I’ve found myself helping a child in a classroom and they have no idea what they’re doing. Going back to school I hope I can lessen the gap by intervening in pre-k. With the right tools I believe that I can help the children I work with by starting them off as on track as I can get them. I’m hoping I’ll learn new strategies that are geared towards children that have delays that contribute to their learning disabilities. I am an enrolled member of the Nez Perce tribe and the elementary I work at is on the Nez Perce tribe reservation. What I love about my job and going back for a higher education is that I am directly giving back to my community. I grew up here and attended the same elementary. It is a blessing to be able to give back and support the children and their parents as a community member who understands the struggles and successes that come with living here. As a working mother of three young children anything helps and I hope I am awarded this scholarship.