Autobiography Example I have always dreamed of being a teacher.

I started out at _______Elementary School in __________ , Illinois eager and ready to learn. In first grade, I decided that I wanted to teach first grade. My teacher was so fun to be around and had an influence on me wanting to become a teacher. Through my middle school and high school career, I could not wait to go to college and begin my dream. I was born in a small town, which over the span of ten years, exploded into now the third largest town in Illinois. What once was a farm field behind my house is now a neighborhood with million dollar homes. My neighborhood was filled with many children my age. I spent most of my time playing outside with the neighborhood children. In my family, I have one sister who is three years older than me and one brother who is one year younger than me. I really appreciate the fact that I have a stay at home mother. It was nice to come home to a house that was not empty. My dad is a high school biology teacher. He has emphasized the importance of an education within our family. He is the one who fostered my love for science. As a family, we always went camping for the entire summer. We would leave a couple days after school ended and come back a week or so before school started. Our summers were always filled with lots of fun adventures. My dad taught us how beautiful the world is, which interested me in nature. We traveled various places including Alaska, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. As my dad taught me about nature, I realized how important it was to me. As I grew older, my dream started to shift from being a first grade teacher to something more. Between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I worked in northern Wisconsin at a summer camp for girls. My main duties included being a counselor and teaching classes. One class I taught was about wilderness, which involved spending a great deal of class time outdoors. During my second year at camp , I developed a water ecology unit which was taught to all of the girls. When I saw the amazement on the girls' faces when they discovered something new, it thrilled me. It was then that I realized I had a talent for teaching nature and science and I should pursue it.

I came back to college my junior year and focused heavily on my biology courses. I took many field classes and it was there that I met a very influential professor. I was taking Vertebrate Natural History and had a professor who was new to Eastern. He had just graduated with his Ph.D. and seemed very enthusiastic about coming to Eastern. As the semester progressed, he helped me realize that I was meant to teach science. He was so happy when he was in class or out in the field. His passion of biology really showed. He also helped me realize that one should go into a field of study because it makes one happy and excited. Following my junior year, I received an internship at the International Wolf Center as an environmental educator. For three months, I was involved in doing several programs that lasted from 30 minutes to 3 hours in length. I had visitors that ranged from young children to senior citizens. This was the first time I was able to apply my skills as a biologist and teach people about interesting topics. I taught a variety of topics including wolf biology, ecology, tree identification, and bird watching. I also had the experience of teaching both in an outdoor and indoor setting. From this experience, I learned how to become a strong, effective, and environmental educator. I also learned that this was my passion and I should follow it. Now, as I finish up my education degree here at Eastern, I have many opportunities ahead of me. I am focused on teaching people to be aware of their surroundings and how much nature has to offer. Many times we look at the big picture and do not realize that nature is alive. It is my challenge to help people discover those mysteries. Back to the Portfolio Outcomes Section