This past May me and about 15 other students all embarked on a trip together down to the Hopi and Navajo reservations. Our first destination was Tuba City, Arizona where we met a family who lives on the Hopi reservation and had the chance to learn about their culture. We saw Beanie (one of the family members) demonstrate how she makes her pottery and her basket weaving. It was really neat to see. The education students had the chance to sit in on a heritage language class at the middle school and nursing and public health students got to tour a clinic. Then we headed to Chinle, Arizona where we all had the opportunity to tour a hospital and speak with a medicine man. We hiked Canyon de Chelley there too. Our last stop of the trip was Monument Valley/Bluff, Utah. Education students had the chance to visit two different schools, one in Bluff and one in Monument Valley while the nursing and public health students had the opportunit to visit a few different hospitals.
When we visited the school in Monument Valley I was immediately impressed. The building is only five years old. It used to reside at a different location, and then they tour it down and re-built it as a brand new schoool at the new location. It is so nice inside. We were all able to meet the principal and she is the nicest lady. After a short conversation I could tell that she really knows how to be principal and is doing some great things at the school. I had the opportunity to observe a kindergarten class for the day. At the end of the day the principal mentioned that she was looking for students to come student teach at this school. My professor chimed in saying they have had a few students in the past and they loved it. The principal said that they are in a teacher drought at the school because it is on the reservation, kind of in the middle of nowhere and so it is not very appealing for teachers looking for jobs. She said she would love student teachers to come down and student teach here and then become a full time teacher here but that even if someone just came down to student teach and they left after, they would still have the experience of a lifetime and walk away with so much knowlege. When this was brought up I didn't even really think about it. I didn't know that it was an option for student teaching. Later on the trip my professor asked me if I would want to student teach there. I told her I hadn't really thought about it. A few other people on the trip expressed interest in, but they both have families and so it would make it impossible. After returning from the trip I didn't really think much more about it. I remember mentioning something in passing to my family about it, but then shrugged it off.
In September when the semester began the same professor asked me if I was going to student teach down there. I told her that I couldn't because I had a lease at my house for a year and couldn't break it. Another student told me she wanted to student teach down there but had a full time job and didn't know if she could give it up. Someone else in the education deparment asked me and I again told them no. Then the end of September I had the opportunity to go back down to Monument Valley and do a book project with 4th graders at the school. A different professor on this trip asked me about student teaching and I replied with the same explanation about my rent. At the begining of the day when we finished our book project the principal came back up to me and asked me "So are you coming down to student teach." Knowing I was the only student on this trip that had been down before. I looked at her, and in that moment I said "I would like to but I have a few logistics I would have to figure out." It wasn't a yes. But it wasn't a no. Which is what I had been saying before. We spent the day confrencing with the students and helping them get their writing pieces to publishing form. Then they all shared them in front of the class. Each story was different and unique to them in their culture. One wrote about pinon picking and another about driving to Salt Lake to sell jewelry with her mom and another about visiting the museum of their president. It was really neat to hear about their culture. And to hear it coming from them. At the end of the day we talked about the project. How we felt it went and what we would change if we did it again. The principal came up to me again and said "You should let me know if you want to come down here." I told her I would, and then continued to have a conversation with someone else. It was in that moment that I decided that I could either stop making up reasons as to why I can't do and miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity or sieze it and see what happens. I then walked up to the principal as we were getting to leave and said to her "I really want to come down here and student teach. I have some things to take care of on my end, but I would love to." She told me to keep in contact with her and that she was excited.
Only a few days later I walked into my student teaching interview and declared to my advisor that I wanted to student teach in monument valley. She started looking into it and the process began. Initially they informed me I couldn't go by myself, that I would have to find someone else wanting to student teach down there. I asked around and some of my professors did the same. But I couldn't find anyone else that wanted to. I began getting anxious. I had quickly become so excited about this opportunity that it was now all that I thought about, and the idea of it not working out was devastating. This is where I had to surrender to God and trust him and his plan for me. I released me fear and control to him. Last week I recieved an email from my advisor saying she was speaking with the dean to find out if I could go down by myself. The next day I recieved another email that he said I could. What followed after that was a series of emails between my advior, the dean, the principal and me confirming everything.
I am happier then ever and could not be more excited to embark on this adventure. I will be living down in Monument Valley for 12 weeks, and then returning to Salt Lake to present my portfolio and graduated. There definitely will be challenges I'm sure, but I think that this opportunity will teach me so much and provide me with so much knowledge and help set the foundation for my teaching career. I would love to get a full time teaching position at the school and teach there for a few years before returning to Westminster to get my MED and become a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.
This was an opportunity that was handed to me, and I think it would be ridiculous not to take it. That is what life is all about. Siezing moments and opportunities that come your way. Taking left turns that you might not have planed on taking but seem like they might lead to somewhere good and stepping out of your comfort zone to try something new. What is life if we don't do these things.
Here is to the next chapter of my life. Wherever it leads.