Freedom!

When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to either be a sports medicine doctor or a high school math teacher.  So I decided that I would try out for the North Carolina Teaching Fellow Scholarship and if I got it, that would mean that I would be a teacher.  So I went through all of the rounds of interviews and I was awarded the scholarship at UNCW.

For those of you not familiar with the scholarship, it is valued at $26,000 and is awarded to high school seniors that want to go into the teaching profession.  You get $6,500 a year to pay for everything you need to pay for college.  You then have to participate in the Teaching Fellows program at your school which was a class that met weekly and you had tutoring hours and observation hours that you had to fulfill.  You also had summer requirements you had to fulfill and all sorts of other things.  If you graduate and stick with teaching in North Carolina for four years, you don’t have to pay back any of the $26,000.  The program itself, especially at UNCW, is terrific and gives you a lot of opportunities that you don’t get in a regular education program.  There is a lot of pride in the Teaching Fellow program for preparing excellent teachers and I certainly feel like I had the best background to make me a great teacher.  I am very proud when I say that I am a Teaching Fellow.

I always said that I would teach for four years and pay my scholarship back and then I would move on and do something else.  Since I majored in mathematics with essentially a second major in secondary education I could very easily do anything math related.  I could go into accounting, banking, or anything else that has to do with numbers that will make more money.

Well last year I completed my four years.  And this year I started my fifth year.  And I can’t imagine doing anything else.  I have no desire to go back to school and I love where I am professionally.  I am getting better each year and I love my friends that I get to work with every day and the high school kids that constantly keep me on my toes and can handle anything I throw at them.

One of the big days we have been waiting for is when my payoff letter came and there was a big $0 balance for that huge $26,000 debt.  Well that day came and Deddy and I had the burning party that we always talked about having!!

 

  

 

 

Now I have the freedom to whatever it is that I please.  Right now it’s looking like I would be pleased to be a mom and a teacher.  I’ll probably be around until my 30th year when I can retire with some pretty sweet benefits when I’m 52!

 

Side Note:

One thing that does make me upset about this is that I had a few VERY deserving friends that did not get the Teaching Fellow Scholarship and should have and they are now dedicated teachers in their 5th year and should be burning their letter with me!!