Erin Cain

The way I perceive the world today looks much different than I saw it four years ago. I

was a scared and anxious young woman going out into a world that seemed way too new. I was

worried about the world and what it was becoming. Although today I have some of those same

anxieties, I feel called to see the world differently. Rather than being too scared to act, I feel

called to go toward what was once making me fearful. I feel called to be uncomfortable at times,

in order to help others who haven’t had the opportunity to feel comfortable like I have for the

majority of my life.

The majority of my strengths lie in relationship building characteristics. I am an

empathetic and positive person, which can lead me to bring quite idealistic at times. Because of

my strengths of developing and relating to others I am able to find a fairly realistic look at life,

too. I’m thankful that in many cases, I can go into situations and see clearly what is happening in

the present, yet also to what could be in the future.

With my background in English literature, Secondary Education, and Catholic Studies, I

have been shown many different perspectives, ideas, theories, cultures, and people. I’ve been

reminded though my studies that time and time again, it is my vocation to be with others. I desire

to encounter people and meet others where they are, particularly to empower students in and out

of the classroom. With my strengths, I hope to be a mediator for students to connect to the

readings and writing that they have. I hope to show them the great power they have in their

voice, that they are important to our community, and that they each have the opportunity to make

positive change. All of this, I believe, starts in the English classroom.

 In the English classroom, we create a community of learners through every action, every

activity. Students are given the opportunity to use their voice through writing to reach anyone

they desire. They read to understand, analyze, and see the world in a new way. They speak in

order to discuss, listen, and develop. Students grow in the English classroom.

I’ve been preparing to do this my whole life. Literally, I’ve been learning the good and

bad in and out of the classroom every single day, just by being a student and going to school.

I’ve also been learning through the great educators around me every single year. My parents

were the first great teachers I had. Yet when I look back at my years in school, my very favorite

teachers were my English and Religion teachers. It wasn’t always because of what we were

learning, but rather it was because they truly cared for students for who they were as people.

Students weren’t just a GPA or letter grade. They cared. Each of them encouraged me to be my

best self in every way.

Right now, I feel like many young people that I know are lonely and believe they don’t

have someone to go to. My vocation is to meet that need while being myself.