Tell us a little bit about yourself and your plans for college.

Since the 2022-2023 school year, I have actively volunteered in my community as a tutor for students who want but cannot afford extra time with their teachers. During these sessions, I’ve had many experiences with children who have a variety of backgrounds. The biggest challenge I have faced can be summarized as: “How can we motivate students, and encourage them to reach their full potential?” Since then, I’ve developed a student-by-student plan that I have implemented, with the main idea being that I hold conversations with my students about their needs.
Students must receive personal attention from school administrators and staff. It is essential that teachers find a way to make personalized education available and include special accommodations for students, as it’s been proven that no two students have the same requirements needed to succeed. While individual time with each student in school is impossible to complete within a 45-minutes, breaking students off into groups where their needs are better met and where other students can relate to their peers is a possible solution.
In the future, I hope to become a teacher but aim to become Secretary of Education, where I can stimulate meaningful conversations between students and teachers on how to improve the classroom experience. While working with a fifth grader seemed difficult in the beginning, our collaboration to create such a tier list for motivation has opened my eyes to the needs of our students. Using what I’ve already learned as a tutor and my degree, I hope to create a comfortable environment where students feel open to sharing their struggles. I hope to use my education to help future generations reach their goals and make a difference within their community. To motivate students, we need to understand what their needs are and be the change that the education process needs. Mediocrity simply isn’t acceptable: we can no longer allow students to fall behind simply because of miscommunication.

Olivia from Ohio
High School Senior
Clinton-Massie High School