December 10, 1978 in Orangeburg, South Carolina a beautiful baby girl was born to Angelia Maria Ham and Ralph Milton Ham and they named her Shawnda Ham.  During my first five years of life I lived in Fort Jackson, South Carolina; this is where my educational life began.  One of my most distinct memories came from my experiences in the first grade that included reading above my grade level.  As one of the few students reading above my grade level, frequently my reading time was spent working in a special group reading with children who were on the same reading level as myself.  I also remember the taunting I received from my peers about being in the nerd group.  The comments from my peers did not turn me away from reading thankfully.
 Second grade brought the divorce of my parents and yet another move to another town.  The town this time was Florence, South Carolina where I resided with my father while my mother endured boot camp for her entrance into the United States Navy.  Second grade brought out the math side of my educational ability because the subject interested me and was a constant challenge.  At the end of a successful school year with my father, I made yet another move which was a move towards stability.
 In fall of 1987 my mother was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia and this is where I began the third grade.  The third grade was the first time that I had a male teacher and it was a very good experience.  Mr. Pantalone was one of my favorite teachers and taught in a manner that bred discipline, respect, and learning in a fun manner.  Mr. Pantalone only had one rule and that was to treat others as you would like to be treated and that covered all types of behavior.  I still use that rule while working with children today.
 Suburban Park Elementary was the school I called home until the completion of my fifth grade year when my mother decided to move to Virginia Beach.  Unknown to my mother or myself this would be my last change of school systems in my public school life.  I began sixth grade at Centerville Elementary before Middle Schools existed in Virginia Beach.  My arrival to Virginia Beach was a culture shock for me.  My surrounding environment was changing from a school in Norfolk where Caucasians were the minority to a school in Virginia Beach where African Americans were the minority.  Despite this fact I was able to interact socially and learned a great deal about other cultures.
 My seventh grade year in school I attended the then Brandon Junior High and became more involved with the orchestra and playing the viola.  That particular year brought a number of competitions on a citywide and state level and I found that I loved the competition.  This year brought a new light on literacy for me as well.  I began reading during my free time and found that it was a task that was greatly enjoyed.  Reading outside of class helped my reading and vocabulary skills inside the classroom.  Reading books written by Judy Blume and books in the Babysitters Club series held my interest for days on end.
 The end of my seventh grade year brought many changes in my life.  Virginia Beach decided to use the next year as the schools systems transition from Junior High to Middle School.  This transition was extremely difficult for myself as well as my peers because we had become accustomed to having freedom to look after ourselves and go to class and lunch and to our lockers as freely as we liked.  Our eighth grade year brought many restrictions and boundaries.  We had an authorized time to go to lunch, to our lockers, and everyone in your specific core group had the same teachers and the same lunch period making it difficult to socialize with friends in other core groups.  I, as well as many of my peers, felt isolated and as if the freedom that had been given to us the previous year had been taken away.
 One of the other changes in my life was the announcement of a new baby brother.  As an only child for fourteen years, I was unprepared for a sibling in my life.  My brother came into my life towards the end of my eighth grade year.  We had an instant bond and I decided right then that he was going to be my little project and I wanted to help him to grow up to be as intelligent and sharp as his sister.  I began this process by reading to him as a baby and speaking to him in entire words to help his language development.
 My ninth grade year in high school at Tallwood High School was the beginning of my life in extracurricular activities.  The beginning of my ninth grade year brought a position as manager of the volleyball team.  I worked with the team during practices by helping gather balls for use and giving them towels.  I used this time to survey whether or not I felt that sports were for me and I realized that it was not but I did enjoy my season with the team.  I also began my four-year membership in Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering also known as CHROME.  Through this organization I was able to work with many projects involving math and science, subjects in which I found great interest.  One project in particular was a yearly high school math competition that took place at Norfolk State University. I took first place in the category of Algebra II at this particular competition.
 My first year of high school was also my last year of time spent in the orchestra.  I feel that I left off with a good year although sometimes I do miss playing the viola.  This particular year in the orchestra I was given the great opportunity to attend a national competition in Toronto, Canada.  A competition where our orchestra took the trophy for first place that made me feel that we had conquered a great feat together.  The other great moment that I had with the orchestra that year was auditioning and being chosen to be apart of the Virginia Beach All-City Orchestra for the 1998 performance.  I don’t feel that I could have finished my time in the orchestra any better.
 My tenth grade year was the year that has shaped my life as I see it today.  I had always wanted to work with children because I love working with open minds.  My sophomore year in high school was my first year taking a Spanish class and I had the best teacher that I have ever had and I feel that Mrs. Falls is responsible for my success in the language.  She not only taught the language but she also made teaching the language an interactive experience which I now feel is necessary to aid retention of a language.  I didn’t know it at that time but her part in my life would play a great part in my career decision.
 My sophomore year in high school was also the beginning of my work in community service.  I joined the Key Club this year because I liked what they did for the surrounding community and what it stood for.  The community service projects that I took part in with the Key Club helped me learn what it felt like to help others and it felt good.  My time spent working on community service led me to seek community service in college as well.
 The summer before I was to begin my eleventh grade year I began my life in the work force.  I began working at Burger King learning how to work with people and to develop social skills to properly help people who were seeking service from myself.  The coming year I was also enrolled in a Cooperative Office Education Program through a computer class where I was required to find an adequate office job.  In July of that summer, I was hired at a company that provides mental health insurance named Options Mental Health.  I continued to work at Burger King throughout the summer as well at Options until the school year began.  At Options Mental Health, I was hired to mail out letters everyday, answer the telephones, and file client information.  Both of these employment opportunities taught me an excellent work ethic, which I still carry today.
 The February of my junior year Options Mental Health experienced a time of down sizing and I had to be let go which I feel until this day was a blessing in disguise.  After I was laid off, I was hired in the Student Activities department of Virginia Beach City Public Schools.  This allowed me to actually see the school system at work and come in contact with important people in my future profession.  I used more of my computer skills while employed in this particular office as well.
 My twelfth grade year brought a year of new beginnings and an employment opportunity, which was closer to what my career choice would entail.  This year I worked for a private preschool and was given the opportunity to work with children and to teach them a little Spanish.  I found this incredibly exciting.  Every Tuesday of the week I worked with the children on their numbers in Spanish, their days of the week, and short greetings and farewells.  I was amazed at how rapidly the children were able to pick up, process, and utilize the information that was being taught.
 My last year in high school I was treasurer of a school business that was managed strictly by my Computer Operations course.  We were responsible for taking in jobs from students and faculty such as typing up tests, resumes, or college applications that we were paid a small fee for completing.  I feel that this class gave me great experience in office management and business skills.  I learned a great deal from working with the team.  Through this class I also became a member of the nationally recognized organization Future Business Leaders of America also known as FBLA.  Through this organization I learned even more business skills.  I also participated in the annual competition for FBLA placing first in the category of Business Procedures on the local, regional, and state level.  My previous success in competition made me eligible to participate in the national competition that year in Anaheim, California.
 My senior year in high school I was accepted to Longwood University under early admission, which was bringing my life goals into focus.  I graduated from high school with a grade point average of 3.2 and an advanced diploma with honors and Governor’s Seal.  The summer before I began my freshman year in college I returned to work for the office of Student Activities until I left to go to college.
 The 1997 session of Longwood University’s Preview program is what has brought me to the career goal I am pursuing presently.  As an incoming freshman, I was required to take several placement tests, one of which was Spanish.  After viewing my scores, a professor who is now my advisor suggested that I become a Spanish major because my placement scores were very high.  I commented that I wanted to be a teacher that is why I chose Longwood University and that is when she spoke the words that changed my life.  Dr. Goetz suggested that I become a Spanish major and receive my teacher certification in K-8 and I could teach Spanish in the elementary school setting.  That day I became a Spanish major.
 My entire freshman year in college was a year used for adjustment.  I was set on keeping a grade point average that was acceptable and I was able to finish up my freshman year with an average that was slightly above a B.  I was proud of myself.  That year I also assisted the admissions office with its annual Minority Weekend Program.  I visited the campus through this program and I felt that it was vital that help give back to the program because it is a great tool for maintaining the minority population.
The following year I began to look for an organization where I could take part in projects that would help to build up my community.  In the spring semester of 1999, I became a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, a national sorority that prides it self in scholarship, service, finer womanhood, and sisterhood.  I became historian of my sorority and was required to maintain a scrapbook noting all community service projects and programs geared toward the community using pictures and anything else that I deemed important.
The summer following my sophomore year in college I participated in my first practicum.  I was given a kindergarten class and I was absolutely ecstatic when I found out that I would be working with 5 and 6-year-olds.  I felt that this was a perfect opportunity to measure whether teaching was what I truly wanted to do.  I loved every minute of my practicum and if I had it to do all over again I would not change a thing.  I worked with an excellent teacher who has been teaching kindergarten for seventeen years, Mrs. Karen Austin.  She was everything that I needed as a role model and even more.  She was the perfect example of a teacher who loves what she does and shows it in every minute that she spends with her children.  I came in contact with the children on a daily basis and could not just sit back and observe; I felt a need to jump in and help every child who needed the help because they were all so eager to take anything that you gave them.  That is what I loved the most about the kindergartners; their minds are like open books and they want to learn anything that you as a teacher are willing to teach them.  Mrs. Austin gave me the opportunity to teach them their colors in Spanish.  All of the children picked up the information and were using it so quickly that it astonished both of us.  This first practicum finalized my career choice.  In the future I see myself working with 5-year-olds teaching them the Spanish language.
 The fall semester of 1999 was very busy for me but I loved every minute of it.  I was involved in many community service projects such as Farmville Area Community Emergency Services also known as F.A.C.E.S and the Telefund for the admissions office of Longwood University.  One of my favorite personal community service projects was working with Mothers of Preschoolers also known as M.O.P.S. at Farmville Baptist Church.  Every first and third Thursday of the month, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., I worked with 3, 4, and 5-year-olds as a teacher assistant in the classroom.  I was responsible for playing with the children, helping them construct projects, and overall helping them have fun.  I loved every minute of this experience I love being surrounded by children and I try to do so whenever it is possible.
 This past semester I was also participating in a tutoring program entitled Book Buddies through my Education 325 class.  I felt that this one-on-one experience was very meaningful and gave me yet another view of the educational system.  I worked with a child who had problems with reading and I was there to give him extra assistance that his teacher was unable to give him in the classroom.  This opportunity showed me that there are children struggling to read and write in English and that it is going to be a reality in my future career.  I also learned that I am going to have to gain the skills necessary to help children overcome their problems in reading and writing English so that they can enjoy Spanish.
 Creativity has been and always will be a major part of classroom work and part of the enjoyment that students have in the classroom.  With the new emphasis on Standards of Learning some teachers are forgetting to put the fun and creativeness into the curriculum.  I plan to maintain a curriculum which breeds retention and creativity and fits the individual needs of my students.  The curriculum in my classroom will teach the information that my students will need to know for SOL testing but they will present the information in a different creative way each time to insure the success of every student and to hold each child’s attention.  I will provide many hands on activities and I will perform many of the activities together with my students so that it can be a truly special experience for everyone.
 The atmosphere of a classroom is a very important factor in the learning process.  It is important to have a classroom that is warm and welcoming and to have a teacher in the classroom with that same type of loving attitude.  In today’s society of sexual harassment cases, some teachers are hesitant to demonstrate love and caring in their classrooms.  I refuse to fall at the hands of society.  Children learn better when they are in an environment where they are comfortable and feel that they can work and express themselves as freely as possible.  I plan to provide this since of warmth in my classroom by having stations where there is carpeting, soft comfortable chairs, lamps, anything that would make a child feel at home. Also it is important for a teacher to greet her students at the door of the classroom as they are coming in because this makes the child feel important and the teacher is also able to see what type of day each child is having.  I plan to use each one of the tactics mentioned above in my classroom because I feel that they will be an important part of guaranteeing my students success inside and outside of the classroom.
 I feel that I have a full life ahead of me if God decides to grant me that and soon I will have even more to write about.  I will be spending this semester in Valencia, Spain attending the University of Valencia.  I have experienced a lot more than some people my age and I am thankful for every individual experience.  I am excited about my future and hope that I can do my part for society.