Before going into high school, I told myself that I was going to be a Journalist because I enjoyed writing and that was all I had really ever done. When I got into high school, already in Freshman year people knew where they wanted to go to college and what they wanted to do and that scared me. By my sophomore year, I took a personal finance class and we had to make a powerpoint on a possible career that we wanted to do and I chose Journalism. After researching about the career, I discovered that writing for a living did not make much money and you had to have a passion for it, which I lacked. Since Journalism was out of the question, I was at loss of what I wanted to do and what I was capable of doing with my life.
That same year, I was helping out in the classrooms for Sunday school at my local synagogue to get 6th graders ready for their bar or bat mitzvah for 7th grade. I was helping them prepare for a ceremony that Jewish people celebrate over becoming a man or women at age 12 or 13 and you read out of the torah and prayers. I had been teaching the 6th graders in the classroom for a year or so and my boss had seen me grow with my learning and teacher and asked me if I wanted to become a one on one tutor for the 7th graders. When he asked me that, I panicked and was scared at the idea of teaching one on one because I didn't think I could do it and didn't think I had a ton of skills to tutor them.
But instead of letting my fear and doubt get in the way of me tutoring the kids, I decided to listen to my boss and try out tutoring the students. I ended up tutoring many students who had learning disabilities or didn't need my help and learned a lot about being able to face various challenges. I ended up tutoring the 7th grade students from Sophomore year till I graduated high school. If I wasn't pushed to tutor by my boss, I wouldn't have known that I could be a teacher and that education was the right path for me.
I used my challenges as a positive push into the right path for my future. I would tell a mentee who was going through a difficult situation on deciding what major they want to do , that they should try new things and if a teacher suggests that they would be good in a certain major, then they should try it out because you never know where an experience will take you. It is also very important to not doubt your capabilities in school or at home or with your friends. You should always believe in yourself and try new things instead of second-guessing your capabilities for a specific job or experience.
I loved this so much because even though you had one dream and had your mindset on one thing you opened up to other opportunity to be able to still be happy and successful. I thought it was great that you listened to others and took their advice because it lead you into a better path and to find a new passion.
ReplyDeleteHi Alayna! I just wanted to say this is a lovely story. What we choose to do in college usually dictates what we will be doing for the rest of our lives, and it is important to do something you care about. I love that you were able to push through the challenge of tutoring the kids at your synagogue and ended up deciding it was the best path for you. With mentees especially, it is important for challenge them to do things that may be out of their norm a just a little out of their comfort zone, because it could turn into something incredible like this!
ReplyDeleteAlayna,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you were able to find your passion and what a lovely story. I agree with your method of encouraging your mentees to take different course to see what they maybe interested in, if they are undecided of a major. I my own opinion, I think that is the main reason why we have to take liberal studies, to explore other option. A great way to sort of help your mentees into the right path, is asking a serious of questions of what they are passionate about or subjects they struggle the most in and reflect on what major are offered here at NAU by researching the NAU website. Encourage your students to explore their options and to give them resources for guides, like the Gateway center.