I love math. Like in a weird way. If I could do math every day I would be in heaven. Not science, not computer stuff, just math. I received my math degree from Wright State in 2002. I wanted to teach but didn't want to take the additional time (and money) to get my teaching certification. I hoped that at some point I'd have the opportunity to get into a program where I could get my certification. However I couldn't find any programs near Dayton. (Mom told me about a program in Florida near her, but I wasn't sure I'd qualify for that one.)
After being an IP (Intellectual Property) Docket Clerk for 8 years, I still dreamed of doing something else. I'm an excellent docket clerk, I know my field and do my job well. However, it's not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Early last year I saw an article in the Dayton Daily News about the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship. I had several friends who also had Math or Technology degrees, so I told them about it. My friend Nikki applied, and she was accepted! She was part of the first class of Woodrow Wilson fellows to go through the University of Dayton. I thought about applying last year but I wasn't sure I wanted to be a teacher.
As Nikki went through the program I was a little envious that she was on her way to becoming a math teacher. Last December I started looking into the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship. I finished my application in February and started the wait. In March I found out I was a finalist and invited to an interview in Toledo.
I had about 10 days to prepare my presentation on a topic in my field (I chose Pythagorean theorem) and get ready for my taped interview. My presentation went well, and the group discussion went well. But then I walked into my individual interview, which was taped, and I fell apart. My interviewer asked why it took so long to finish my degree and he asked about all the jobs I've had. My insecurities came out and I started saying things I'd never say in an interview. I went home feeling defeated and knew I had blown it. I started thinking about applying next year and what I'd do different to make sure I got it next time.
At the end of April I had given up all hope that I was going to get the fellowship. And then I got the email - the one that congratulated me that I was selected as a Woodrow Wilson fellow. I was at work and practically ran to a conference room to call Jason and let him know. I then called my supervisor at work and let her know. (She had known since December that I was planning on applying.) And then I called my mom, of course. And then I tried to go back to work. It was so difficult to concentrate when I knew my whole life was about to change.
So next Monday I start my Masters in Education at the University of Dayton. It's an intensive 14 month program and I'll be done next August and teaching in the fall of 2014. I start shadowing a teacher this fall, and then I'll do my student teaching in the winter. Most likely I'll end up teaching at Dayton Public Schools when I'm done.
For more information about the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, here's the website: http://www.wwteachingfellowship.org/
Please pass this on to anyone you know who has a math, science, technology or engineering degree and is interested in teaching.
Also, if you'd like to see my profile on the Woodrow Wilson site, here's the link: http://www.wwteachingfellowship.org/fellow/2013-ohio-bios.php
Wish me luck! :)
Friday, June 21, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Preparing for Trip #7 to Honduras!
In a matter of days, Jason and I leave for Honduras! I'm excited, but I haven't even started to think about packing. To be honest, I have bags in the closet of the things I normally take to Honduras. There's a zip lock in the bathroom with Imodium, Tums, bug spray, spray sun block, allergy medicine, band-aids, chapstick, etc. I also have a supply of large zip-lock bags in the bathroom for other items. My summer clothes all in one place, so those are ready to be rolled up and packed into 2-gallon zip lock bags. I just grab and go, it's like packing to go see my Florida parents.
However, this trip is like no other trip we've ever taken. We booked our own plane tickets, we booked our own hotel (actually, bed & breakfast), and other than the trips to go see our sponsor children, we'll be planning what we do each day in San Pedro Sula. Honduras has become like a second home to me and I'm so excited to do more exploring this time, instead of being part of a trip that's pre-planned by someone else. We have two friends coming with us, whom I met on my last trip to Honduras last October. Martin is from Pennsacola, Florida, and Chris is from Chicago. We're meeting in Atlanta and then flying into San Pedro Sula together. (They're also staying at the bed & breakfast.)
The first full day we're there, we'll meet Jason's sponsor child, Henry Enok, for the first time. He's six years old and we may be his first sponsors. We're already picking out toy cars for him. We'll take him and his family to lunch and then go to a mall that hopefully has an arcade where we can play for the afternoon. He's at HO-329, where we were last October. Martin and Chris are coming with us and we're hoping to see some of the other children who grabbed our hearts 6 months ago. (I have a balloon pump and balloons for Bayron.)
After we leave HO-329, we'll take a quick trip to HO-372 to see a well in progress. Not just any well, but a well that the team from our October trip, along with our churches and families, raised over $10,000 to help build. We fell in love with the children and the staff at HO-372 and wanted to do what we could to make sure the kids have clean drinking water. It'll probably just be a hole in the ground, but we'll be pretty excited to see it.
The next day Jason and I are going to HO-334 to visit my sponsor girl, Ana Melissa who is 13 years old. I got her first letter since I met her at the water park last October and she feels bad that she was so shy and didn't say much. I want her to know that I got to know so much about her in that day at the water park, and that's what means the most to me. I'm sure she'll be more comfortable around me this next time and we'll have a chance to talk more. We'll also take her family to lunch and then go visit another mall. Taking a 13 year old girl to a mall is completely different than taking a 6 year old boy. :)
Martin and Chris will go visit Martin's sponsor child and then take him to Zizima, the water park we went to last October. Chris' three sponsor children will meet them at Zizima that afternoon. Jason and Ana aren't water park people, so that's why we chose to do the mall instead. (And I'll be happier away from the bugs that got me last year at Zizima.)
The next day we're hoping to go out to Copan to visit the Mayan ruins. The day after this Chris and Martin go back to the states and Jason and I are planning on going to a Baptist church in San Pedro Sula. I'm looking forward to singing well-known hymns in Spanish. We have the rest of the day together to do some shopping, or who knows what trouble we'll get into. Ha. Actually, I'd like to visit an orphanage while we're there, but I'm still not sure how to set this up. Transportation and communication are still issues for us. Touristy stuff is easy to arrange, trips to places with more poverty, not so much.
So here's the reason for this blog... we're looking for donations to take to the projects we're going to visit, and also gifts for Henry and Ana and their families. Here's a list of suggested items for the projects:
Crafts:
Construction paper
Crayons or colored pencils
Glue sticks
Small children’s scissors
Drawing Paper
Lots of stickers
Photocopied coloring pages
Bubbles
Balloons
Toys/Games: (gently used or new is great)
Long jump rope
Balls (soccer, basketball, tennis, inflatable beach balls are great too)
Pumps, extra needles
Frisbees
Memory
Uno
Flash cards (math or English/Spanish)
(If you want to buy a game other than those listed above, make sure there's instructions in Spanish.)
Cars
Trucks
Books (with pictures or very easy English words)
Puzzles
Anything else you might think of would be great. Send me a message if you'd like to drop off any items or I can come pick them up. We have time to run around and pick up items this Saturday, May 4th, and Monday evening, May 6th.
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!!
However, this trip is like no other trip we've ever taken. We booked our own plane tickets, we booked our own hotel (actually, bed & breakfast), and other than the trips to go see our sponsor children, we'll be planning what we do each day in San Pedro Sula. Honduras has become like a second home to me and I'm so excited to do more exploring this time, instead of being part of a trip that's pre-planned by someone else. We have two friends coming with us, whom I met on my last trip to Honduras last October. Martin is from Pennsacola, Florida, and Chris is from Chicago. We're meeting in Atlanta and then flying into San Pedro Sula together. (They're also staying at the bed & breakfast.)
The first full day we're there, we'll meet Jason's sponsor child, Henry Enok, for the first time. He's six years old and we may be his first sponsors. We're already picking out toy cars for him. We'll take him and his family to lunch and then go to a mall that hopefully has an arcade where we can play for the afternoon. He's at HO-329, where we were last October. Martin and Chris are coming with us and we're hoping to see some of the other children who grabbed our hearts 6 months ago. (I have a balloon pump and balloons for Bayron.)
After we leave HO-329, we'll take a quick trip to HO-372 to see a well in progress. Not just any well, but a well that the team from our October trip, along with our churches and families, raised over $10,000 to help build. We fell in love with the children and the staff at HO-372 and wanted to do what we could to make sure the kids have clean drinking water. It'll probably just be a hole in the ground, but we'll be pretty excited to see it.
The next day Jason and I are going to HO-334 to visit my sponsor girl, Ana Melissa who is 13 years old. I got her first letter since I met her at the water park last October and she feels bad that she was so shy and didn't say much. I want her to know that I got to know so much about her in that day at the water park, and that's what means the most to me. I'm sure she'll be more comfortable around me this next time and we'll have a chance to talk more. We'll also take her family to lunch and then go visit another mall. Taking a 13 year old girl to a mall is completely different than taking a 6 year old boy. :)
Martin and Chris will go visit Martin's sponsor child and then take him to Zizima, the water park we went to last October. Chris' three sponsor children will meet them at Zizima that afternoon. Jason and Ana aren't water park people, so that's why we chose to do the mall instead. (And I'll be happier away from the bugs that got me last year at Zizima.)
The next day we're hoping to go out to Copan to visit the Mayan ruins. The day after this Chris and Martin go back to the states and Jason and I are planning on going to a Baptist church in San Pedro Sula. I'm looking forward to singing well-known hymns in Spanish. We have the rest of the day together to do some shopping, or who knows what trouble we'll get into. Ha. Actually, I'd like to visit an orphanage while we're there, but I'm still not sure how to set this up. Transportation and communication are still issues for us. Touristy stuff is easy to arrange, trips to places with more poverty, not so much.
So here's the reason for this blog... we're looking for donations to take to the projects we're going to visit, and also gifts for Henry and Ana and their families. Here's a list of suggested items for the projects:
Crafts:
Construction paper
Crayons or colored pencils
Glue sticks
Small children’s scissors
Drawing Paper
Lots of stickers
Photocopied coloring pages
Bubbles
Balloons
Toys/Games: (gently used or new is great)
Long jump rope
Balls (soccer, basketball, tennis, inflatable beach balls are great too)
Pumps, extra needles
Frisbees
Memory
Uno
Flash cards (math or English/Spanish)
(If you want to buy a game other than those listed above, make sure there's instructions in Spanish.)
Cars
Trucks
Books (with pictures or very easy English words)
Puzzles
Anything else you might think of would be great. Send me a message if you'd like to drop off any items or I can come pick them up. We have time to run around and pick up items this Saturday, May 4th, and Monday evening, May 6th.
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Giving Up or Taking On for Lent
Most people give up something for Lent. I realize it's like fasting, but why? Yes, I grew up Baptist, and Baptists don't do much for Lent, other than prepare themselves for the Easter season coming up.
(Sidenote: I used to work at the University of Dayton, which is a Catholic university. I remember the first time I saw people walking around with ash on their foreheads. I had no idea it was Ash Wednesday and was quite freaked out. I finally asked someone and I'm pretty sure they couldn't believe I had never heard of this Lenten tradition. I'm sad I missed the chance to take part of Ash Wednesday while I worked there.)
I've never given up anything for Lent. A lot of my friends have, even the ones who aren't Catholic, but I've never seen the point of denying yourself something for just a season. There's a lot of things I could sacrifice and give up but if they're healthy, it would be bad to give them up. And if they're not healthy, then I'm just doing what I should have done anyway. Right?
Last year I decided I wanted to give up something for Lent. I went through the laundry list of things people usually give up: chocolate, fast food, soda pop, facebook, etc. And then it hit me, I was going to give up sleeping in and read my Bible each morning instead. (When something "hits me" I assume it's God and I go with it.) So on February 22nd last year, I set my alarm to go off every day at 6:30 am and I woke up and read my Bible. And every day of Lent, I woke up at 6:30 and read my Bible. (There was a vacation in Gatlinburg where I didn't set my alarm, but I did make sure I read my Bible as soon as I woke up.)
And for the past ten months I have continue to read my Bible as soon as I wake up. This is something I've never done before. Yeah, I'll admit it, I haven't regularly read my Bible for an entire year since High School. I'm not proud to admit it, but I wanted to share because a habit started from deciding to give up something for Lent. A GOOD habit. No, I don't get up at 6:30 am to read anymore, but I do know I need to set my alarm about 20 minutes before I need to get out of bed so I have time to do my reading.
In the past if I had time to read, I'd read a book and then if I had extra time, I might read my Bible. Now I have that time in the morning to read, and it's always my Bible. And if I have extra time, I'll read another book. I enjoy reading my Bible. I crave reading my Bible. The stories are all fitting together and almost daily I have an "ah-ha!" moment. It's pretty awesome.
(Sidenote #2: If you're a friend of mine on facebook, you'll notice that I post almost daily that I've finished my daily reading. This is a way of being accountable and hopefully I'll inspire someone else to read their Bible that day.)
This morning I read day 322 of the Chronological reading plan through YouVersion on my ipad. I'll finish on March 27, 2013. I'm about a month behind, so no, I didn't read every day, but after 322 days I've missed about 30 days. I think that's pretty good. Especially considering my previous record. (Which would be more like missing about 322 days and reading on 30 days.)
Tomorrow starts the new Lenten season for 2013. I have no idea what I'm giving up this year, but I have a feeling it's sleeping in again. I'll definitely be setting my alarm for 6:30 and getting up and doing... something. Running? Laundry? Cleaning the attic? Actually, I might take that extra time and work on relationships. Anyone want to get coffee at 6:30 tomorrow? ;)
I'm blogging this to encourage you to give up something you don't really need to take on a good, healthy habit that you actually stick with after Lent is over. Hopefully you'll also find that the "have to" period turns into a "get to" period. When you don't have to do something anymore, will you still want to do it?
(Sidenote: I used to work at the University of Dayton, which is a Catholic university. I remember the first time I saw people walking around with ash on their foreheads. I had no idea it was Ash Wednesday and was quite freaked out. I finally asked someone and I'm pretty sure they couldn't believe I had never heard of this Lenten tradition. I'm sad I missed the chance to take part of Ash Wednesday while I worked there.)
I've never given up anything for Lent. A lot of my friends have, even the ones who aren't Catholic, but I've never seen the point of denying yourself something for just a season. There's a lot of things I could sacrifice and give up but if they're healthy, it would be bad to give them up. And if they're not healthy, then I'm just doing what I should have done anyway. Right?
Last year I decided I wanted to give up something for Lent. I went through the laundry list of things people usually give up: chocolate, fast food, soda pop, facebook, etc. And then it hit me, I was going to give up sleeping in and read my Bible each morning instead. (When something "hits me" I assume it's God and I go with it.) So on February 22nd last year, I set my alarm to go off every day at 6:30 am and I woke up and read my Bible. And every day of Lent, I woke up at 6:30 and read my Bible. (There was a vacation in Gatlinburg where I didn't set my alarm, but I did make sure I read my Bible as soon as I woke up.)
And for the past ten months I have continue to read my Bible as soon as I wake up. This is something I've never done before. Yeah, I'll admit it, I haven't regularly read my Bible for an entire year since High School. I'm not proud to admit it, but I wanted to share because a habit started from deciding to give up something for Lent. A GOOD habit. No, I don't get up at 6:30 am to read anymore, but I do know I need to set my alarm about 20 minutes before I need to get out of bed so I have time to do my reading.
In the past if I had time to read, I'd read a book and then if I had extra time, I might read my Bible. Now I have that time in the morning to read, and it's always my Bible. And if I have extra time, I'll read another book. I enjoy reading my Bible. I crave reading my Bible. The stories are all fitting together and almost daily I have an "ah-ha!" moment. It's pretty awesome.
(Sidenote #2: If you're a friend of mine on facebook, you'll notice that I post almost daily that I've finished my daily reading. This is a way of being accountable and hopefully I'll inspire someone else to read their Bible that day.)
This morning I read day 322 of the Chronological reading plan through YouVersion on my ipad. I'll finish on March 27, 2013. I'm about a month behind, so no, I didn't read every day, but after 322 days I've missed about 30 days. I think that's pretty good. Especially considering my previous record. (Which would be more like missing about 322 days and reading on 30 days.)
Tomorrow starts the new Lenten season for 2013. I have no idea what I'm giving up this year, but I have a feeling it's sleeping in again. I'll definitely be setting my alarm for 6:30 and getting up and doing... something. Running? Laundry? Cleaning the attic? Actually, I might take that extra time and work on relationships. Anyone want to get coffee at 6:30 tomorrow? ;)
I'm blogging this to encourage you to give up something you don't really need to take on a good, healthy habit that you actually stick with after Lent is over. Hopefully you'll also find that the "have to" period turns into a "get to" period. When you don't have to do something anymore, will you still want to do it?
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