I’ve had 4 teachers throughout my life that have made an impact on me. My first grade teacher, Ms. Melisurgo was one of my favorite people. She was energetic, happy, creative and always made me feel special. As a 6 year old child, this was something that was very important. She always encouraged me to do my best and til this day, she is always something I think of who inspired me to become a teacher. Much like my first grade teacher, my 6th grade teacher, Ms. McNamara always taught us to stand up for our rights and if we didn’t like something to question it. She gave me the self confidence to stand up for myself when I didn’t agree with a situation. As I got older, and started having teachers for 40 minutes a day, it became a little harder to connect with them. My 8th grade home and careers teacher, Mrs. Lundquist was another huge inspiration. I always enjoying going to her class and her jovial spirit. She was another redhead, so we totally bonded and now, as a colleague, we have become great friends. She went from teacher to mentor for me. My Spanish teacher in high school, Ms. Larrea was another teacher who probably had the greatest impact on me. I had her for 3 consecutive years and we became really close throughout that time. She understood that her students had lives outside of school and was understanding to our individual needs. She was tough when the time called for it, but also easy going. I see a lot of my own teaching style in her and I’m proud to say I have some of the same relationship with my students as I did with her. She was always there for me if I needed an adult (who wasn’t my parent) to talk to and it’s nice that I’m that figure for some of my own students.