Changing Lives - One Child at a Time by Maylyn

Changing Lives - One Child at a Time by Maylyn - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

Reflect on a time you helped someone in a meaningful way—what did you learn about yourself from that experience?

From the time that I was five years old, I just knew that my calling in life was to be a teacher. My older sister and I would spend countless hours in our playroom with a wooden desk and a marker board. Being a teacher is all I have ever wanted to be. My parents and friends often note that I "make a friend wherever I go." And I do. I love talking to people, making new connections, and understanding people. As I have gotten older, I have understood that not only do I love people, but I also love children. Yet being the youngest in the family never allowed me much of an opportunity to interact and gain experience with kids... until one day.

I have always been an overachiever in high school. Taking over fifteen college courses, working two jobs, and always making time to go to the Barren County football games, I never seem to miss a beat. Taking dual credit classes has allowed me the opportunity to do a program called service learning. Service learning is a program that Barren County offers for students who have completed their dual credit class that week and is looking for some real-world experience to help them go into their profession. I decided to contribute my service to a local elementary school. I did not know what this would look like, but I was so excited to find out and gain some needed experience. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, but I never knew if I would be good at it. I wanted to make a difference, but I didn't know how. I needed that reassurance. I went to this elementary school for three hours, three days per week. By the end of the semester, I totaled over one hundred hours of unpaid service.

I was assigned to assist the 2nd grade classroom. From the day I opened the door to find twenty eight-year-olds staring back at me, to the day we had my departing celebration, these were some of the best days of my life. I performed a lot of different acts of service, whether that was assisting the teacher in printing and cutting, reading books and asking the students questions, or playing Jenga at recess. I did a variety of different things. But there is one thing that is going to stick with me forever. The 2nd grade teacher asked me to pull one particular student out in the hallway to work on literature skills. The first time I went out into the hallway with her, I thought "oh no..." The little girl could not sound out simple sight words like "her" and "it". Simple reading skills that we take for granted, she just could not understand. She was far behind her peers in several areas. Her peers were reading whole books, whereas she could barely sound out any word. I wanted to help her, but how? I had no teaching experience at all. I was only still in high school. I couldn't possibly make a difference...

Hour after hour, we worked. We struggled together. We tried different tactics such as rewards, writing on marker boards, spelling, the use of capital letters, putting sounds together, and so much more. I noticed slight improvements each time. The 2nd grade teacher was wonderful, but the little girl just could not receive the attention and one-on-one time that she so desperately needed from her teacher. But I was there. Hour after hour. Each time she would sound a word out or remember a trick that I taught her, I would raise my hand and give her a big high five. December had come and the semester was ending. We went out in the hall to study and learn one more time. We brought a Christmas book with us this time. She read every word of every sentence of every page without my help. All on her own. She had officially learned to read. Without even realizing the rapid progress we had made, my sweet little friend closed her book. She looked at me, lifted up her hand for a high five, and said, "I just read that whole thing by myself!" And before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. I had just taught my first student how to read. "Yes you did!" I said.

Without even realizing the impact that this made on me, I know now that I am truly made to be a teacher. I feel like I did a great act of service for someone, but more than that, I feel like she did something for me too. I now know my verification that I must be a teacher. I have so many young lives that need me.