Autobiography



Here you will find out about my educational background, a few unique things about myself and my life goals.


Growing up...

I was born in Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, GA on May 17, 1981. I went home from the hospital to my home in Auburn, GA, which is 50 miles NE of Atlanta. I lived on 10 acres with 2 pastures. At the age of seven, I was always playing a sport, whether it was basketball or softball. I played throughout elementary, middle, and high school. I loved school and sports and was extremely involved in extracurricular activities. I was also an avid reader. I was raised a Georgia Tech fan and my dream was to attend Georgia Tech. I had a wonderful group of close friends throughout school and we’re still close today.


College Years...

Once I was accepted to Georgia Tech I contacted the Athletic Association’s training room about becoming a student trainer. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship. Although I was a soccer trainer in high school, nothing prepared me for the first day of two-a-day practice and having to ice down 20 players who were having cramps. I made it through that first football season and had so much fun! Being a student trainer helped me become very good at time management.  At the beginning of my sophomore year at Tech I decided to go through sorority recruitment and joined Phi Mu Fraternity. Phi Mu was a wonderful opportunity to meet young women my age and make new friends. During my last two and a half years at Georgia Tech I continued to be involved in athletic training and Phi Mu. I graduated from Georgia Tech in December 2003.  I consider my time at Georgia Tech the greatest of my life, and I wouldn’t trade a moment of it. Go Jackets! Bzzzzzz

 

Work Experience…

Until recently I have never had a job that I had to interview for. Throughout high school my parents always told me that as long as my grades were good enough and I stayed involved in extracurricular activities they would support me financially. My first job was an on campus job working for the Georgia Tech School of Biology as an office aide. I also considered student training a job even though I was on scholarship. Another fun job I had was being a camp counselor for a high school summer camp at Penn State University. That summer experience was incredible. At Georgia Tech I also refereed fraternity intramural basketball games and worked some summer camps.  I currently work as a pharmacy technician at CVS Pharmacy in Auburn, GA.

My Education...

In first grade I switched math classes 3 times before I was returned to my original class. By fifth grade I was placed into the gifted program and finally felt at home in school. I was able to learn more challenging material and made friends with a great group of students. Reading has always been emphasized in my family. My grandfather had an eighth grade education before he had to help his family by working on the farm. He loved to read and would read anything available to him and continued to self educate himself through adulthood. That love for reading and lifelong learning was instilled in me at an early age.

In high school I took all gifted and AP classes in preparation for college. In 9th grade alone I read 25 books for the freshmen reading challenge. I always wanted to go to Georgia Tech and do something in business and thought that was where my future career would be. Towards the end of my course work at Georgia Tech I really didn't know what I wanted to do. Everyone from home always told me I would be great in education but I emphatically said no thank you until one day at Georgia Tech. In one of my information technology classes we were doing a demo of HorizonLive software and one of my classmates pointed out that this had the possibility of revolutionizing education. That really impacted me because until then I had not thought about education as a career using new technologies. I decided that I wanted to be part of the twenty-first century educational system. I began looking into Master of Education programs. I knew that I didn't want to be in a classroom teaching the same subject everyday and that I wanted access to as many students as possible. I also knew that I wanted to share my love of reading and the importance of literacy with others. I decided the best way to accomplish my goals was to become a school media specialist. I began the Instructional Technology - School Library Media track at the University of Georgia in January of 2004 and will graduate May of 2005. I must admit that before this program began I had the old-fashioned view of school media specialists as the ladies in the back with buns in their hair, guarding the books. It was so refreshing to be part of the University of Georgia School Library Media Program that was cutting edge, emphasizing things like collaboration and the role of teacher as a media specialist. I want to be the fun, exciting, school media specialist that inspires the students to visit the media center and to read. I want the students to want to be in the media center, actively learning, and reading. I am so thankful that the program at the University of Georgia encourages this type of media specialist and media center. The program at the University of Georgia has been amazing and I would recommend it to anyone.

My Future...
I began looking for media specialist jobs in Gwinnett County this January and have accepted a job at Norcross High School for the 2005-2006 school year. During the summer of 2005 I plan to tour Europe for the first time. I plan on working at Norcross for about three years before I begin my L-5 add-on certification or specialist degree. I would love to have my Ed.S. before the age of 30, primarily so I don’t have to take the GRE again. I am also looking forward to getting married and having a family.

 

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Site created by Adria Gravely
adriag@uga.edu
Last updated 4/17/2005