Hannah Kanter

FRINQ: Portland
Professor Naomi Adiv
January 6, 2016
Educational Autobiography

Over the course of 14 years, I have attended nine schools in Washington, Oregon,
and California. Ive been homeschooled, Ive gone to alternative and comprehensive high
schools, and Ive even braved the world of Catholic school. Normal or standard, are not
words that come to mind when describing my education. There are however, specific
teachers and people that I remember who mark significant moments in my educational
autobiography.
Mr. Clement, Bellingham High School; Bellingham, Washington:
Mr. Clement was the first teacher that blatantly pushed me out of my comfort
zone. Setting the tone with his syllabus that cued thunder, and for a heard of cows to
wander across the stage Mr. Clement made his expectations for his students very clear.
Where yes, you may be shy, but you will have a presentation once a week. Yes, you may
not be the best writer (we were sophomores after all), but after his class you would be
solid as an author. Over the course of these two semesters there were many moments of
self-doubt, but ultimately I walked out the other side with a sense of security in myself as
a student and the capability to see a challenge and not be deterred.
Professor Joy Gonzalez, University of San Francisco; San Francisco, California:
Prof. Jay taught Introduction to International Politics at the University of San
Francisco. We started the course with introducing out socioeconomic background. Hello,
my name is Hannah. I am the eldest of three children, in a single parent middle class

household. I am from Houston but grew up in Northern Washington. I am a metal smith

by trade, but Im going to school for International studies.
After this course with Prof. Jay, I felt like I had a clearer picture my major. To me
it became tangible; it is the intersection of multiple disciplines to understand the
dynamics between countries, cultures, and heritages. For me this class was the beginning
of a never-ending stream questions. Why was guerrilla warfare preferred by some nations
as opposed to others? How is ISIS able to immerse itself in to religions that conflict with
their core intent? How is diaspora a soft power, when it affects so many aspects of our
immediate culture? Prof. Jay strived to instill a sense of demand for knowledge into his
class. Instead of learning theories and ending there, we would be given theories and then
have to apply them to current issues in the world.
Both Prof. Jay and Mr. Clement were key character in my educational
autobiography because they instilled curiosity and a demand for knowledge in to my
education.