Ja’Vontaye Gagum

I ultimately became a teacher to encourage others like me in my generation and instill hope in the future generations that they can do anything that they set their minds to, despite any circumstances. I come from a low-income area where hopes and dreams sometimes stay in brains and have trouble becoming realities. I was blessed and grateful to overcome obstacles throughout my life and set out to achieve anything that I would set my mind to. I want to instill the same drive for the future.

The most memorable experience I’ve had while teaching happened when my Theater students approached me with the initiative to perform and produce my favorite play by William Shakespeare, "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar!" I was amazed because we only had five weeks to memorize and perform it, but those students put on a phenomenal performance and they even surprised me with mementoes from various rehearsals! I couldn't be more proud of them!

I would enhance my technological instruction and purchase educational materials that would immerse my students and myself into state-of-the-art technology and research materials to further diversify and expand their horizons in communication and collaboration. My students are currently limited to resources available to them as we have or receive outdated materials or equipment that aren't compatible with current updates and softwares that are vital to their educational necessities.