Personal Statement

I'm passionate about teaching, especially math and English. I love technology in its many forms - web design, photo manipulation, presentation software, data-analysis. I enjoy being creative - whether I'm designing a new website, finding a solution to a problem, or making handmade crafts. I would appreciate the opportunity to combine my interest in technology and passion for education in a meaningful and creative way.

My work history is varied, showing my ability to adapt to new challenges. However, there are also common threads running through it: my attraction to technology and the educational system. As opportunities shifted, I continued to seek out jobs that would allow me to further nourish my skills in these areas.

Through my employment and education, I have learned different techniques for teaching a wide variety of students. I have enjoyed using my creativity to present new ideas to students through multiple mediums: from PowerPoint and Windows Movie Maker, to games and puzzles I've made, to real life applications. Among the greatest rewards in this field is that moment when a student suddenly understands a concept that had been eluding him - that "Ah-ha!" moment. As a student of education, I observed wonderful teachers instruct their students with engaging presentations and meaningful evaluations. I also spent 16 weeks in two middle school classrooms as a student teacher, where my responsibilities grew from those of an apprentice to those of the lead teacher. I created unit plans, organized the classroom environment, and managed the students. As a substitute teacher and aide, I continued to hone my teaching skills. I was primarily responsible for the management of the students, but math and English teachers, in particular, requested me as their sub because they knew I was capable of teaching new materials. And as an aide, the lead teachers valued my enthusiasm for creating and presenting mini lessons.

Workplace technology is varied and constantly evolving. While my first exposure to computers involved writing little programs in BASIC as a child, my skills have also evolved. For each new employer, I have learned new software and hardware, usually without formal training. I enjoy diving in and learning as I go. I also enjoy taking on additional computer-related tasks to further challenge myself and expand upon my abilities. I have taught myself (via books, Google searches, and questioning more skilled people) web design, photo manipulation, graphic design, MS Office, and more.

Several years ago, I started a few websites of my own - some for personal or limited use, others for public consumption. I have these sites both to fulfill a need I see among potential users and to fulfill my own need to continue to grow in this area. Since then, more opportunities have arisen. I created my church's website from scratch and continue to be in charge of updating it.

As the graphic designer for a T-shirt shop, I was responsible for creating custom artwork that met the requirements for screenprinting or embroidery. I used my knoweldge from art classes I took at NMU, as well as my natural talent to manipulate design.

In broad strokes, my design process consists of inspiration, a very rough draft, expansion of the original elements, followed by testing and tweaking. The rough draft is usually on paper in the form of an outline, a word web, sketched pictures, or some combination. From there, I go to my computer to start the layout, and perhaps find more inspiration. For web design, I'll go back and forth between my editor and browser to ensure that all the elements are working properly and look how I intend them to look. I also create multiple versions of pages to see which I like best for my purposes, taking into consideration not only aethetics, but usability and maintainability.

Kathryn Torrey

Personal Statement