I originally thought I would go to college to become a lawyer, but in 2016, I went to the Washington Education Association's state conference to see my mom receive the ESP of the Year Award. I remember looking around, seeing all of these other educators—not just mom—and thinking, 'Wow, they're really passionate about students and they really care about public education.' That's when I decided to go into education, majoring in health and physical education with a minor in coaching and African American Studies.
I'm currently a fourth-year student at Eastern Washington University and I'm vice president of the Student WEA program. My goal before I graduate is to help build a strong and sustainable campus chapter at my school. It's hard. I've gotten some pushback, but I'm also surrounded by union members who are willing to help and get fully active on our campus.
This is important to me because people think it's enough to just sign up for NEA or WEA's liability insurance. The union is more than that—and that's why I connect with future educators to get them to see, learn, and realize that the union is about students.
And as a member of NEA's Aspiring Educators, I've been exposed to so many more union members who are still in college. I've made some great friends along the way, and I've been able to meet and network with people from all over the country. I've learned a lot about what’s happening in other states, both good and bad. And I've picked up some great ideas about the work aspiring educators are doing nationwide.
We're all pretty much starting out in our careers or in our majors, and we're really just trying to figure it out. The nice thing about the union is that we have a support system, not only from our state but from the rest of the country—and that's really helpful.
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