Mary A.

Seals
315 Harvard Ave, Alma, MI, 48847 Cell phone: (989)763-5688
seals1ma@alma.edu
To whom it may concern:
My name is Mary Seals and I was raised in the small Michigan town of Ithaca. Before I
entered into public school at Ithaca, I was homeschooled until I was in 6th grade. Throughout
my upbringing, the importance of family and meaningful relationships was continually
stressed to me as the most important things in life. Living out in the country, I partook in a
lot of outdoor activities such as camping, skiing, hiking, and hunting. Since I was at home a
lot with my mom and dad, I was their primary helper when it came to building our house, the
excavation of our property, and maintenance of the land and garden. My parents did not
tolerate any laziness on my part, and put value in a hard-working child who partook in
everything that the family set out to do: valuing unity over everything.
In all honesty, children have always scared me. When I was younger, I never wanted to be a
teacher, and was convinced that nothing on this green planet could possess me to stoop so
low. Both of my parents were teachers, and that was as close as I was going to get to the
wretched profession. However, upon entering the great institution of Alma College, this all
changed. I took my first Education class that placed me in a classroom and I immediately
knew that I was never looking back.
Being that my dad and mom were both educators meant that Education was highly
esteemed, and therefore much was expected of me when I entered into the public school
system. When I went to Ithaca, I was indeed ahead of my classmates educationally, but very
much so behind socially. I was made fun of and was always considered an outsider, even up
until my senior year. For this reason, I have always had compassion for the students who are
often looked over, or who make others feel too uncomfortable to approach. If we allow these
outliers to slip by for the sake of our own comfort zone, then we will never know our own
potential as teachers, or that of our students.
My experience at Alma College has given me extensive experience in and out of the
classroom, yet all benefiting the profession and lifestyle that it is to be an Educator. Through
my Education classes, I was placed in over four classrooms as an undergrad, then
culminating to my thorough student teaching experience. I have traveled to Peru, Ecuador
(twice), and Honduras: and am therefore well-versed in my content area of Spanish. I was
captain of the Competitive Cheer team at Alma, and thus have assumed leadership positions
in and out of the classroom setting. I was also part of the Hispanic Coalition at Alma: an
organization that reached out to minority populations around the county, giving me much
experience with compassion and outreach. I was part of Sigma Tau Delta-the English
Honorary at Alma-acquired through educational excellence and critical thinking skills.
Although I have had a privileged experience growing up, my heart is for the people that are
often overlooked or devalued. This passion and compassion translate themselves into my
teaching style and philosophy, where I embrace the true and strong belief that all students
are achievers and extremely intelligent in their own way. Although the system may say
otherwise, every single person I come into contact with brings their own unique skills to the

Mary A. Seals
315 Harvard Ave, Alma, MI, 48847 Cell phone: (989)763-5688
seals1ma@alma.edu
classroom. The unity and meaningful relationships that my family taught me when I was
younger have ingrained themselves in my mind and heart, and are things that I wish to
demonstrate in my classroom and with my students every day.
Sincerely,
Mary Seals.