Nichole Lively

Instructional & Learning Processes: Secondary

Bio Resume

February 9, 2015

William Arthur Ward said, [t]he mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher
explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
Teachers give students a foundation for the means to be successful in society.
Teachers encourage, inspire, and motivate students to learn and want to learn, to
provide the skills for self-learning. As it is important for people in society to work
together, it is just as important for teachers to work with one another to further
develop skills and better teach students.
At a young age, my peers told me I would make an excellent teacher. I
always reached out to assist classmates, even in older or younger grades.
However, at the time I was anxious of the thought of teaching an entire class who
depended on only me in front of them. It was not until High School when I babysat
and tutored my niece and nephew that I became more inspired by the career plan.
At the beginning, their grades were in the Cs and Ds. Naturally, I had begun to
plan games, scenarios, and exercises directly related to their studies. My niece and
nephew started to relate their school work (primarily Math and English) to real life
events and needs because of the work I provided them. This gave them a feeling of
purpose and increased their desire to learn, as well as their grades which were now
As and high Bs. I received positive feedback throughout the year from their
teachers, as well as my nephew was offered to skip a grade because of his
improvement. This gave me pride, I will admit, but it also gave me the confidence
to teach and the desire to learn how to become a better teacher.
During my undergrad, I wanted to keep involved in the community. I enjoy
volunteering to help others, but I also became a better person from it. Volunteering
helped me become a more well-rounded individual and learn how to interact with
people of different backgrounds. I volunteered in various groups in order to achieve
that. Some volunteer positions were at a fair-trade store; prison ministries; as a
tutor for GED and kitchen help at the Harvest House; as a youth leader for my local
Church; as a tutor/supervisor at my local teen youth centre; as a side walker for a
therapeutic riding program for children with exceptionalities; and to offer a lot of
concert help with a Nashville star who raised money for charities. Volunteering has
become my hobby, along with odd jobs, such as a Disc Jockey, actress, and a labour
worker for MaxSys, which also increased my people skills exponentially.
Half of my volunteer time was spent with youth, while the other half was with
adults. As a teacher, one must be able to interact with adults as much as youth. Of
course, the volunteer time with youth helped further encourage my desire to teach
during my undergrad, as well as to help develop my skills to deal with children with
various backgrounds. Having dealt with children from church families, to those with
disabilities, and even to those who are offenders, I believe I have a good foundation
for dealing with all youth. As for adults who are in prison, experiencing hard times,
or the common shopper, I also have the foundation for a very broad perspective and
understanding of the world. Everyone has a story.
During my undergrad, I also took a few American Sign Language courses and
met some amazing people. The Deaf community is a very interesting one that
many people overlook. I became enthralled with the language and it opened my
mind to children and adults who have difficulty with communication and to other
career opportunities. Therefore, I plan to get my Masters of Science in Speech-

Nichole Lively

Instructional & Learning Processes: Secondary

Bio Resume

February 9, 2015

Language Pathology after my Education Degree in Elementary. Working in a school

setting as a Speech-Language Pathologist would be very rewarding for those who
need help communicating more effectively. Whether I teach before receiving my
MSc. in SLP or wish to combine both in a school setting, teaching skills are required
in either profession.
There were other exciting things that I accomplished during my undergrad,
such as acquire my motorcycles license, learn to dance, play the cello, fly across
the country for a trip, take up target practice, skydive, and a few other things. I
genuinely enjoy trying new things, going to new places, and meeting new people.
Challenges are something I thrive on, and I believe that there is no better challenge
than to help others succeed.