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My first word was "pop" for my grandfather. This was the first time that I connected a word with a concept. -
I attended preschool beginning in 2006. Here, I have memories of being read to and learning some letters. This is a start to the foundation of reading. -
My grandmother was a kindergarten teacher before her retirement. She and my grandfather would babysit me after preschool hours while my mom was still at work. I remember her playing with magnetic letters on the fridge with me and teaching me sounds. This helped me to love the idea of learning. (Photo of me and my Grandmother) -
In first grade, I have memories of sitting at the reading group table with my teacher and being asked to sound out words that I did not know. This helped me to foster reading skills (photo is me in about first grade) -
In 2nd grade, I have a memory of creating my first contribution to our "class book". This was a fun way of engaging us as young children to develop a positive relationship with reading.
(I do not have an actual photo, but this is me in 2nd grade). -
In 3rd grade, I had a teacher who read to us every day. We would vote on which book we could read as a class and we would allot time each day to reading it. I looked forward to it daily and it sparked a passion for reading. -
In about fifth grade, I found that I loved the Divergent series of books. I read them relentlessly and a few different times. -
In 7th grade, I took one of my favorite english classes. I remember this class so vividly because we learned so much about grammar, language usage and the english language. I loved this class because I felt that it helped me to become a more passionate reader.
(photo of me in 7th grade) -
My senior year of high school I took a dual enrollment course: English 101. My professor was fantastic. In that course, I was challenged to read more difficult texts than ever before. I developed a confidence and comfortability in reading. Further, my professor even encouraged me to be a graduation speaker. -
In Poetry class my freshman year of college, I learned about many concepts of literature. I felt that I learned so much in this class.