School Supply Drive - EDCI

Community Engagement - Signature Event

Throughout the Fall 2017 semester, I tutored students in reading through a program called East Durham Children's Initiative. The 30 students enrolled in the program were English Language Learners who lived in areas of high poverty and crime. I was so moved by how hard the students worked each week to become better readers. In an effort to help these students further, I coordinated a school supply drive two weeks prior to our last session on Wednesday, November 15th. 



I put out flyers and drop-off boxes in Poe Hall and in my sorority house. I was overjoyed with the amount of support I received from this project. The day before our last session, I laid everything out on the table and was able to give each child a bag full of items that included notebooks, colored pencils, folders, crayons, notebook paper, scissors, erasers, pencils, and gift certificates to eat for free at Jason's Deli. Delivering those bags to the students the next day was the most heartwarming experience I have been a part of. Students were grinning from ear to ear as they walked out with their bags so full that they were dragging on the hallway floor. 

I am so thankful to have been able to work with these students and with the EDCI program as a whole. I have learned so much about how to be selfless and conscious about differences in learning and culture through this whole experience. I would recommend doing service work such as this in your local community! Thank you to Dr. Harrington, Christine Dickerson, Olivia Fitzgerald, the juniors of the Elementary Education program at NC State, and the sisters of Kappa Delta Sorority for all of your generous donations to the school supply drive. The bags for the children wouldn't have been nearly as full without all of your help!

To learn more about EDCI click the following link: http://edci.org/en

"The Power of Your Pencil" - Silent Auction

Global Knowledge - Signature Event 

On November 13th from 5-7pm, I hosted a Silent Auction and Balloon Pop Event in Poe Hall. The planning and organization of this awesome event took place in the 3 weeks prior. The main purpose of this event was to raise money for an organization called Pencils of Promise. The event was a huge success and raised $623!! I am proud to announce that this surpassed my goal of $500 and is enough money to train one Pencils of Promise Teacher!

Pencils of Promise is a non-profit organization that builds schools, provides clean water and trains teachers in developing countries. I joined Pencils of Promise at NC State in the second semester of my Sophomore year and I have loved it ever since. I think that as a future educator, it is not only important to provide for the students that we impact directly, but to also provide for and encourage students globally. To learn more about Pencils of Promise click the following link: https://pencilsofpromise.org/.

Planning and organizing the silent auction was very challenging for me, as I was doing most of it alone. I took two full weekends to visit various businesses and ask them to donate items, in which some were very happy to do and others not so much. Thankfully, I was able to gather 11 items for the auction. A few of the items were a hand-painted cooler, 3 pieces of Kendra Scott jewelry, two NC State tumblers, an NC State serving dish, a Pampered Chef gift basket and more. At the event, I also had a Balloon Pop in which attendees could pay $1 to pop a balloon and win a prize. I think this added a fun piece to the event. I also provided Chick-fil-a catering for those who attended since the event took place around dinner time.

I learned a lot about myself as a student and as a future educator during this event. I think the main thing I learned is that it may take some extra work and effort to show support to children globally, but what you get out of it is so special. When people asked me why I decided to do this, I told them that I thought about all of the great teachers I ever had, all of the beautiful schools I had been in, and then thought about what life would be like for me if none of that had existed. When I asked people to do the same, their attitudes toward donating a few dollars changed completely. This small event helped give the gift of education to so many children, and for that I am so proud and thankful!

Special thanks to the following people for their help with this event: Tammy Davis, Paige Doyle, Kendra Scott, Annette Peck, Alumni Hall, Impeccable Pig, Taylor Narron, Rachel Giddings and Tremaine Brittian! 

If you would like to donate to Pencils of Promise please click the following link: https://fundraise.pencilsofpromise.org/fundraise?fcid=1164994. 

New Orleans Trip

Cross Cultural Skills - Signature Event

On May 16, 2017 me and seven other students from the College of Education left for an amazing trip to explore the sights, sounds and schools of New Orleans, Louisiana. On this 5-day cultural immersion trip I was able to understand how Hurricane Katrina impacted schools, experience the rich culture in the French Quarter, take a river boat cruise on the Mississippi River, and learn about the making of floats at Mardi Gras World.

New Orleans culture played a very important role on the school systems. While visiting the various K-8 schools on the trip, I found that every school offered specialty classes for art, dance and even karate. I think that these special classes allow the lively culture of New Orleans to be preserved. Not only do these classes keep the students interested in learning, but they also allow for students to be creative in more than just their basic subjects. These classes create a more diverse population within students in the schools that we observed. One of the main things I learned about on this trip was how charters are becoming the main schooling system in the area. I learned about the different schools' performance grades and which schools were considered "failing" and by what means. Before going on this trip, I didn't know that there was such a problem with the school systems in New Orleans and I had no idea that there was so much research happening to help them improve.

My two favorite parts of the trip were exploring the French Quarter and attending Encore Academy's Family Friday. Exploring the French Quarter was such an amazing experience. Every corner you turned there was music, dancing, juggling, or some sort of entertainment and of course Cafe Du Monde with the most delicious beignets! Walking through the French Quarter was very valuable to our trip because we were able to fully engage in and appreciate the culture in the area. I was able to understand the effects that Katrina had on the city as I saw many homeless families with their pets. I even met one man who walked alongside a dog he had rescued during the storm. At Encore Academy, the students put on a performance for their families which we were fortunate enough to experience as well. Students in grades K-8 were able to show how they have improved through performances of music, dance, visual arts, and poetry. I really enjoyed seeing how the students were so passionate about what they were doing.

This trip has definitely given me so much to be thankful for as I look back on my own education. I think that going on a cultural immersion trip such as this one is extremely beneficial for future educators because it allows us to think about many different aspects of schooling systems. I was able to understand how the aspects of transportation, funding, testing and performance grades all pay important roles in school systems. I think that learning about all of these different views will help me in the future when it is my turn to find a school that I will call home. This trip also influenced me to look further into Education Policy and truly help make a positive impact on our school systems in North Carolina.

Special thanks to Dr. Regina Gavin Williams and Dr. Tiffany Davis for helping making this trip a fantastic experience!

Henderson Collegiate Campus Visit

Community Engagement - Engagement Event

On April 27th, 2017 from 11:30-1:00 p.m, I was able to represent the College of Education by giving students from Henderson Collegiate High School a sneak peak of NC State's amazing campus. I led a campus tour and then participated in a student question and answer panel. These students were also given the chance to explore Centennial Campus and see the outstanding Hunt Library. As sophomore's in high school I was truly amazed by how determined they were for college. All of the students asked really great questions about scholarships, honors and scholars programs, and majors offered at State. These students were all very kind and respectful; they expressed their appreciation by shaking their hands in the air instead of clapping and making noise. Some students even shook my hand before they left. I was very impressed! I am so thankful to have been asked to participate in this experience because I love showing off our amazing school and encouraging people to attend. Also it reminded me that no matter what age you are, it is important to learn more about colleges and universities in order to help motivate students to further their education. Thank you Henderson Collegiate for allowing me to engage with these amazing students!

Hanukkah Mini-Lesson

Cross Cultural Skills - Engagement Event

Happy Holidays! On December 16, 2016 from 1:30-2:15 p.m, I was given the opportunity to explain the details of  Hanukkah to a 3rd grade class at Millis Road Elementary School in Jamestown, NC. Growing up, I have celebrated Hanukkah every year because my father is Jewish. It was always interesting learning more and more about the holiday each year as I grew older, and I am thrilled that I was able to teach others about it this year! The students in the class were very eager to learn about Hanukkah. I started off by explaining that the Jews celebrated Hanukkah because of a great miracle of their oil lasting eight nights after a major victory over their Greek-Syrian oppressors. I then explained to the students the importance of the menorah, what the tallest candle resembles, and how to light the candles. 

Lastly, I explained the game of dreidel and let them get in groups to play together. When it was time to clean up, I passed out a small dreidel, instructions, and supplies for each of them to take home. The students seemed to enjoy this very much! To wrap up my time with the class, I allowed them to ask questions in order to clarify some of the things I had explained.  At times during this lesson, it was difficult to explain the details of the holiday in terms that the students would understand. To overcome this challenge, I attempted to draw some similarities and differences between Hanukkah and Christmas. One student asked if people who celebrate Hanukkah get presents. I was able to respond by saying that instead of getting presents, the Jews received gifts of money called gelt. Although it was a bit of a challenge to allow the students to fully understand, I feel that this experience has helped me grow as a future educator. I had a great time working with these students and I am very thankful to Mrs. Shields at Millis Road Elementary for giving me this opportunity!

Read to Lead - "Across the World"

Global Knowledge - Engagement Event

On November 11, 2016 in Poe Hall from 10-11 a.m, I was able to work with 4th and 5th grade students in the Read to Lead program. I assisted my peer Taylor Winnix with the activity she created called "Across the World." For the activity, students were given a map and were told to walk around to different stations, each one a different continent, and complete different tasks. The main goal of the activity was to visit all of the continents and learn a little bit about each one along the way. The photo to the left is of a student and I learning about Africa. Our first task was to unscramble names of animals that live in Africa, and our second task was to find the African capitals in a word search. After we finished our tasks in Africa, we moved on to Antarctica where we had to write an acrostic poem using facts about the continent. The other stations included Asia, South America, and Europe. I thought that the activity Taylor put together was fantastic! Unfortunately, we did not have very many students participate. However, the few students that I got to work with seemed to really enjoy the activity. I had a great time working on the tasks with the students and assisting them in learning more about the different continents. I believe that this opportunity was perfect in helping me become more integrated into working with children. Much like my experience with TWT, this activity really helped me focus on working with students and following a specific lesson plan while doing so. I feel that the more experience I have in the classroom, the more confident I will be when I have students of my own in the future. This is only the second time I have really worked with students in the classroom and I can't wait to take part in more opportunities like this again soon!