Teaching found me, and kept calling me back. At first, it was truly just something into which I settled. I got frustrated when I couldn't help every student reach their success, and so I joined the military, hoping to find different fulfillment. When I got out, all I could think about was how much I missed the kids and the classroom. There is no sense of urgency as important in my mind than making sure the youth of the world have every resource that they need to find their version of success.

The letters I received in bootcamp from my former students were heartfelt and genuine. They brought me to tears every single night. It wasn't a classroom experience that was the most memorable thing about teaching, but rather the lack of teaching that sticks deeply in my heart. The absence of my students and the learning environment changed the course of the rest of my life, cementing my purpose in me without a single doubt.

I would like to open a space where students can pursue their passions, safely and with purposeful direction. I would model a facility after my inspiration for teaching, Chris Stone's CT STEM Academy, where I fostered my own ardor for teaching in a place without the barriers of strict curriculum. Students of all backgrounds and ages could spend time in their favorite STEM fields, cultivating their passions at their own pace and direction, with my guidance and resources at their beck and call.