1. About Me
My name is Stephanie Davis. I am a 29 year old woman from Texas, and I’m pursuing a
certification in core subjects EC-6/ESL supplemental. I am the second eldest of five children. I have two
sisters, two brothers, and a few, four-legged family members. Born into a family of bookworms, I
developed a love for reading before beginning elementary school. My favorite books were always tales of
far away places and exotic people. Even as a young child, I knew that one day I would visit the places
and people I read about for myself. So, the first thing you should know about me is that my passion is
traveling. I love to go to new places, meet new people, and try new things. The first time I went out of
the United States was when I was 17 on a high school choir trip to England and Scotland. It was at that
moment that I was bit by the travel bug. Since then, I have traveled to 6 continents and have visited
more than 40 countries. Any time I have a chance, I am jumping on a plane to visit a place I have not
yet been.
My father is in the air force, and as a result, I went to multiple schools growing up, and even
homeschooled at times. However, I maintained excellent grades and was on the A honor roll at each one
of them. I believe my success in school is due to my parents. While they weren’t exactly teachers, they
taught me to crave knowledge, and indulge my curiosities. They taught me that the world is my oyster,
and in order to achieve something, I have to be willing to chase it. In 2006, I graduated 5th in my class
out of hundreds from Burleson H.S. in Burleson, Texas with a GPA of 4.26. I received several awards
upon graduating. Among them, the Rotary Youth Leadership Award. I was also awarded several
scholarships including a full academic scholarship.
The day after I graduated from high school, I hopped on a plane and took a flight to Italy. I had
originally planned on backpacking through Europe that summer. However, when my father heard my
plans, I was told to get a job and be responsible. So, being the responsible daughter that I am, I went
online and searched for jobs overseas for recent high school graduates. That is when I found out about
au pair positions. An au pair is a young adult who travels to another country to live with a foreign family
and provides in-home childcare. This sounded like an amazing opportunity for me to work and travel to
Europe, so I jumped on it. I quickly found an au pair job in Italy helping a ten year old girl learn English. It
was an amazing, and unforgettable experience.
When the summer was over, and I returned to the states to begin university, I was surprised by
how much I had enjoyed working with the Italian girl over the summer. To me, It never seemed like work.
Although I was studying French Literature and language, I soon found myself volunteering at local

2. elementary schools a couple of days per week, and I also began tutoring as a part time job. Each
summer of college, I returned to Italy working as an au pair, and when I studied abroad in Paris during
my junior year, I worked a part time job teaching English to French students in a local tech school. I
loved it.
I graduated cum laude from Angelo State University in 2010 as a member of the Alpha Chi
National College Honor Society. I then took the opportunity to travel and do some learning outside the
classroom for a while. When I returned from traveling, I accepted, what I thought was temporary, job as
a nanny. A few months quickly turned into more than a year. I loved the child I was working with and I
loved watching her growth and development. When I finally did leave that position, I found myself
teaching pre-school in Australia for a year. When my visa ended in Australia, I began a “normal” job in
Hawaii. After a year, even though I was in Hawaii, I was so unhappy with my job. Before I knew what
had happened, I had quit my job, accepted a nanny position to three girls, and moved to San Francisco,
California.
I worked very happily in California until one day when a huge bombshell was dropped on me from
out of nowhere. I had stage 4 cancer and had to undergo surgery and treatment. My life changed over
night. I had a lot of time off, so I used that time to really do some honest self-contemplation. I did a lot of
thinking about life, about death, and about what everything boils down to at the end of the day. I came
to a few conclusions: When I die, I want to be remembered for what I did for others. I want to know that
I helped make the world a better place. I want to be remembered with a smile, knowing that I did what
made me happy, and that I followed my dreams.
Now that I’m cancer free, I’m no longer taking life for granted, and I’m going after what I want. I
want to be a teacher because in my previous positions, I have never been happier than when I am
working with children. I love that, as a teacher, I will have the ability to make a difference in the lives of
my students, and that ultimately, I am making the world a better place. As a woman who is always
seeking to learn new things, and as a teacher, I want to instill in my students the same love for learning
that I possess. I want my students to know that history is filled with ordinary people, just like them, who
have accomplished extraordinary things. I want them to know that no matter what obstacles they may
face in life, they can accomplish their dreams. If I can achieve this, when my time does come, I know
that I will have lived a happy and fulfilled life.