I was given an amazing opportunity to enroll in the Urban Preparation program while studying at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I cannot imagine my life had I not taken this opportunity.  This urban program allowed for extensive study of children in poverty, resilience, culturally relevant teaching. It allowed for ample time and experience in classrooms in urban environment.A year or so later, I came across Propel, a charter school organization that was rooting itself in the underprivileged areas around Pittsburgh. I’ve gained vast amounts of experience in facilitating self-directed learning and using technology in the classroom. I believe I have given my students' abundant learning opportunities. I strive for my students to seek out opportunities and challenges in order to experience the feeling of success. I've initiated museum collaborations. I was the recipient of HP Innovation Grant, as well as 2009's EPIC Spotlight teacher.  I am currently working as a 5th grade Humanities teacher at Propel. I continue to strive to engage, challenge, and inspire my students through independent study, discussion, reflection. I aim to make our classroom structured and productive through high expectations and relentless work ethic. The recent addition of Chromebooks and Google Classroom has allowed my students to become digital learners. Their knowledge of how technology can have a positive impact on their education has grown extensively.In addition to my role as a classroom teacher, I was also selected as our school’s Expanded Impact Teacher and Technology Liaison. The role of Technology Liaison allows me to work with teachers to develop technology-rich content, provide them with equipment, and manage student accounts. These roles allow me to help other teachers, which is in turn helping more students.As a teacher for almost a decade now, I believe I have taught my students some important academic lessons, but I also have taught them about perseverance, work ethic, goal-setting, and achievement.